Something Eminently Suitable
by jamie2109
Summary: Al and Scorpius find something unusual in the Malfoy attic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Not Mine.

**Author's Notes:** Written each day for Livejournal's AWDT community, using Christmas picture prompts. I hope you enjoy the first week. In a couple of days I'll post the second week's ficlets, or you can follow them daily on Livejournal.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews and comments on my stories. Love you all muchly.

jamie

xxxxxxx

* * *

'You boys are going to need furniture in your new place,' Draco said to Scorpius and Albus at the breakfast table.

"Not to worry, Mr. Malfoy, Dad said we could rummage through the garage at Grimmauld place and see what old stuff is there. Apparently there's enough old furniture to furnish a whole house stacked away there.'

'I'm sure, Albus.' Draco grimaced. If that furniture was the rejects from that dark and gloomy house, then he was sure none of it would be fit for use. Not for Scorpius anyway. The apple hadn't fallen far from the tree there, he thought proudly, looking at his eighteen-year-old son. 'However,' he continued, 'I suggest that you look in the attic here. I'm sure that you will find something eminently suitable.'

'Thanks, dad,' Scorpius replied stuffing his face with eggs.

Well, perhaps Scorpius' manners left something to be desired. Draco attributed that to Astoria, and thanked Merlin that she was now gone form their lives. 'Eat your eggs with some decorum, Scorpius,' he admonished.

Scorpius scowled but did as he was bid.

…

'Hey, Al, come here!' Scorpius cried.

Scorpius was covered in dust and hot and sweaty. Being in the attic of the Manor, searching through possibly centuries old obsolete furniture and bric-a–brac was hard work. Al thought Scorpius looked gorgeous, not that he would ever tell Scorpius that. A six year long friendship was too important to throw away by making some insane remark about having _feelings_ for his best friend. And Al wasn't insane.

'What?' he asked. Scorpius was standing with his back to Al, looking at something in the far corner of the room.

Scorpius turned and smiled widely at Al. 'It's a sleigh.'

'A what?'

'Look!' Scorpius said, moving aside. Sure enough, sitting snug under the sloping eaves was a bright blue sleigh.

'Wow, it looks brand new.'

'It was covered with a sheet to preserve it.' Scorpius said and held up a dusty white sheet.

'Even so, it looks extraordinarily well cared for. I wonder how it got all the way up here. Aren't you supposed to keep those things in the garage or something?'

Scorpius shrugged. 'I guess. I wonder who it belonged to.'

'We could ask your father.'

'Right'. As soon as we find some furniture for your bedroom in the new flat, we'll go and ask him.'

Al smiled. He could bring his bed from home but Mr. Malfoy had been so nice offering, and he really wanted to keep a room at home, just in case. He ran his hand over the clean smooth lines of the sleigh, testing the little door by opening it. The hinges had been well oiled, as they made no noise. 'It looks so well cared for, I bet it has an interesting story,' Al said.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and punched Al in the arm lightly. 'Probably some stupid romantic girly thing.'

'Probably,' Al agreed rubbing his arm. 'Anyway, find me a bed, squire, and hurry up about it.' Al laughed and became involved in furniture hunting.

***

God, what he wouldn't give for one of those cool drinks he saw the bar staff handing out. Harry promised himself one as soon as his watch was over. He'd spent several hours hiding under his Invisibility cloak, examining the movements of the guests in the Hotel. The end of his shift wouldn't be long now, he told himself, letting his eyes drift toward the pristine sand that braced an azure sea that was almost an exact replica of the colour in the sky.

He licked his lips in anticipation of the sweet tropical fruit drink that was in his future. If only there was a cool breeze, he would feel so much more comfortable. He sighed and turned his attention back to the numerous guests spread out across the decking, enjoying happy hour.

His target was supposed to be a middle aged wizard, who, according to the local MLE officers, stood out like a sore thumb, insisting on wearing clothes more suited to an English winter than a tropical summer. There had been no sightings of the man, though; all the guests seemed to be casually dressed in very little at all. Harry was sure that were he still single, more than one of them would have earned more than a cursory glance.

But there had been nothing and Harry's frustration level was rising, not from the boredom alone, but the fact that unless he managed to wrap up this case quickly, he would miss Christmas at home – his utterly gorgeous and very close to his heart, _White Christmas_.

There was something inherently _wrong_ with being on this side of the world where the seasons were all arse about. He should be trudging through the snow, searching for the perfect tree to bring home to his family, instead of sweating it out under his cloak.

A touch on his shoulder made him jump. He turned and saw his temporary partner, Simon. 'How the hell did you know I was here?' he hissed from under the Cloak.

'The scuff marks you're leaving on the sand,' Simon replied, grinning madly. 'Thought you'd know better than to place yourself where that sort of thing could happen.'

'Not used to hunkering down on sand,' Harry grouched, no less impressed with Simon's observation skills.

'No worries. Your shift is done, I can take over now. Anything of interest?'

Harry shook his head, even though Simon could not see it. 'Nothing other than the ladies are making a killing this afternoon.'

'They look to be, yeah. This close to Christmas the businessmen traveling alone are looking for a bit of company.'

'Well, no sign of our boy, anyway. Maybe he's peddling his stuff at a different hotel?'

'Could be, but we haven't received any intelligence in regards to that. Don't sweat it, man, he'll be around sooner or later, that type always come back. And then we'll get him. You head off and rest.'

'Good man.' Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was desperate to freshen up. 'See you in the morning. Good luck,' Harry said as he left.

…

'Did you boys find plenty of furniture?' Draco asked both boys as they came down the staircase, laughing and dusty as the attic must have been.

'We did, thanks Mr Malfoy,' Albus replied. 'They're all shrunk and neatly packed into a box we'll take there later.'

'Of course, Al decided he wanted the old _queen_ sized bed, instead of a normal one,' Scorpius said, giving his friend an exasperated look. 'No class.'

'Hey!' Al protested. 'It's got character.'

'The four-poster with the moth-eaten drapes?' Draco asked, grinning to himself. It had been his grandmother's bed, but he wasn't going to tell Albus that.

'That's the one. A few Charms and a bit of spit and polish and it will look amazing.'

'It will at that,' Draco agreed.

'Then you can lure all the ladies into your boudoir,' Scorpius teased.

Draco noticed Al's grin fade for an instant to one of intense pain when he looked at Scorpius. Then, so quickly that Draco wondered if he'd imagined the look it was replaced by a fake smile. Interesting.

'Oh, dad,' Scorpius said. 'We found and old blue sleigh up there, too.'

Draco actually felt the blood drain from his face.

'Yeah, we– Are you all right, Mr. Malfoy?'

Draco blinked and nodded curtly. 'Of course,' he said. 'I'd forgotten that was up there, I should have…' His voice trailed off as he looked at Albus.

'Who did it belong to? How did it get up there?' Scorpius asked, luckily seeming oblivious to Draco's discomfort.

For several moments Draco looked at both of the boys. Perhaps they were old enough to hear the story, then. Besides, it was all so long ago; it should have lost the power to hurt him anymore.

***

When Harry returned to his room at the small pub, he rang the front desk and ordered dinner. He would have loved to just flung himself down on the bed and slept, but the room was stuffy after having been shut up all day and the desultory twirling of the ceiling fan overhead was going to take a while to cool the room down. He flung open the window and took a deep breath of the fresher air and stood there for several minutes watching the sun lower to the horizon. At least the pub was situated near a headland and so he had a perfect view of the most magic sunsets he'd ever witnessed.

A quick shower later and he was feeling more refreshed but the pang of missing home and family was still there. With international communications the way they were, he couldn't send them an Owl, but he could Floo call them he realised after adjusting for the time differences. It should be mid afternoon, perhaps someone was home.

He tossed in some Floo powder, stuck his head in the fireplace and called out 'Grimmauld Place.'

Almost immediately he heard a squeak and then footsteps coming closer at a run. Lily bounded into the room with a huge smile on her face.

'Dad!'

'Hello, Lily, love.' He grinned.

'You coming home soon then?'

'Not sure. As soon as we finish this surveillance, I'll be home, I promise.'

'Will you make it in time for Christmas?'

'I hope so. So how is everyone?'

Dad, you only left yesterday,' she replied, rolling her eyes in that 'dad is such a sap' way she had. Harry laughed; they both loved that he was a bit of a sap when it came to his family.

'Humour me.'

'Albus is pilfering furniture from the Malfoys and James is at work, of course.'

'And your mother?'

Lily turned up her nose. 'She's gone shopping with that crazy team mate of hers.'

'Rhonda? And you didn't go with them?'

Lily scoffed. 'Are you kidding? All they do is comment on how in their days decent witches wouldn't be caught dead in the robes that are fashionable. I can buy my own clothes, thanks very much.'

Harry laughed again. 'Tell you what; I'll bring you something very fashionable and very Muggle when I come home. You can show off to your friends then.'

Lily beamed. 'They'll be so jealous. Thanks, Dad.'

'No problem. Anything for my princess.'

'Just make sure it's not orange, Dad. There's too much orange around here as it is.'

'All right, love.'

There was a knock on the door and so Harry said goodbye and promised to call again if he was going to be much longer. He answered the door and let the owner in with his dinner. She placed it on the table and smiled at him.

'I put a little something extra in there for you, Mr. Potter. Thought it might remind you of home.'

'Thanks,' he said smiling.

'See you tomorrow,' she said and left.

Harry sighed and sat down to his lonely hamburger and chips, ignoring the insipid looking fruit cake that he assumed was supposed to represent a real Christmas cake. Fruit cake made in a mould tin just wasn't the same.

…

Draco led the boys into the lounge and called Pippy to bring the boys some pumpkin juice and afternoon tea. Of course he was procrastinating now, not having planned to ever relate the story of this part of his life. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he even had the right to tell them this. It wasn't just his story to tell.

'The story needs juice and food, dad?' Scorpius asked.

'I merely thought you might be in need of a drink after spending hours in that dusty attic,' he replied.

'Good idea, Mr. Malfoy. I'm parched,' Albus said and flopped down on the couch beside Scorpius.

'Quite,' Draco said, falling silent for a moment while Pippy served up the refreshments. He studied Al as he and Scorpius joked around, and now he knew what he was looking for it was clear to see the depth of feeling Albus carried for his son. When he gave Scorpius the same attention, looking for any reciprocating sign, he could see none. He sighed, feeling sorry for both boys.

'Well, Dad, how about this story, then?' Scorpius asked.

He almost decided against telling them, but then he remembered the look on Al's face earlier and realised that the boy might be comforted by the story, after all.

He looked at Al. 'You know that your father and I hated each other during school, don't you?'

'Of course, it's in all the history books,' Al said.

Draco folded his hands under his chin. 'What you may not know, is that two years after the war, we had an affair.'

***

'Your father always was way too noble for his own good,' Draco said still looking at Albus who, despite appearing a bit shell shocked, managed to nod in reply. Scorpius sat there wide-eyed at the revelation, which wasn't unexpected. Draco could see Albus doing a mental calculation about the time line.

Draco continued. 'I didn't see your father for a long time after the war. The Ministry, as you know, confined me under house arrest for twelve months and, after the sentence was served, I suppose I was used to the solitude. It took me another year after my release before I gathered the courage to want to find him and thank him for what he did for me.' The story of how he'd saved Draco was well known and he had no need to expand.

'Still,' he began again, glancing at Albus. 'If it hadn't been for a joke advent calendar from your Uncle's shop, I might not have had the chance...'

….

The snow was heavy in Hogsmeade, and the village sparkled under its canopy; a brilliant white that lifted even Draco's spirits. The previous year, shopping had been a furtive expedition, completed with as little fanfare as possible, gifts chosen for expediency rather than choice. This year, Draco was determined to take the time to choose properly. He wasn't quite ready for the crowds in Diagon Alley yet, but Hogsmeade would suit his purpose.

His list was fairly short; just his mother, Teddy and Aunt Andromeda, along with Pansy and Blaise. He had also decided to buy his house-elf, Pippy, a gift. He knew he was taking the chance of insulting him, however the elf had been decent company through his incarceration, albeit having developed a disturbing sense of humour and a habit of smirking. Draco planned on surprising the elf with a trick from the Weasley shop recently opened in Hogsmeade.

It would have been impossible to miss the Weasley shop, even if there hadn't been a huge flashing sign hanging ten feet above the shop, shouting about the latest in trick Christmas decorations like 'Mooning Mistletoe' that made anyone standing under it drop their pants.

The windows of the shop were garishly decorated in every colour imaginable, displaying so many goods that Draco felt the effect had been lost. It was typical of Weasleys to overdo it, he thought as he pulled open the door and stepped inside.

The interior was as cluttered as the windows, and what felt like several hundred people were all shopping at once, filling the shop to overflowing. Draco's incarceration meant that he was unused to being around so many people all at once and he immediately felt the tension coiling in his stomach, the joy he'd felt at seeing the village evaporating in this closed environment.

He steeled himself to search for something for Pippy, muttering that the ingrate had better be pleased or else there might be clothes. Carefully stepping around customers, none of who even glanced at him, and being wary of bumping into any barrels of peculiar objects, he made his way along the shelves trying to find something that Pippy might enjoy.

On the wall he saw a poster for Christmas Advent calendars that held a different surprise each day. The poster declared that one day might hold a Canary Cream, the next a Pygmy Puff; one never knew until one opened the little door.

Draco smiled; Pippy would adore that. The little elf did get so excited by Christmas and Draco knew that seeing the elf change into a yellow canary for a short time would be vastly amusing.

He turned back to the shelves to find the brightly coloured package and saw, to his relief that there was one left. He reached out for it and, just as he grabbed it, another hand reached for the same thing. Draco refused to let go and was about to give the owner of the hand a lecture on polite behaviour, when he saw who it was and his voice died in his throat.

Draco swallowed and made himself speak. 'Potter. I think I had this first.'

'You're right, I can get Teddy something else,' Potter said and let go of the calendar, shocking Draco. 'Sorry about that.'

'It was for Teddy?' Draco asked. 'Oh, wouldn't he be too young? Some of these things seem a bit–'

Potter nodded. 'But he loves the penguins and I can't resist him. Never have been able to.'

'Yes, he winds Mother around his little finger, too.'

'I bet,' Potter replied, smiling. 'Who was yours for?'

'My house-elf would you believe?'

Potter laughed and it changed his face. He looked good, Draco realised, too good. He answered Potter's laughter with a smile.

'Don't tell Hermione that or she'll bombard you with calls trying to get you to join SPEW.'

'She's still running that bizarre club?'

'Trying to. Though with three members it's hardly a going concern.'

'Three?' Draco arched an eyebrow.

Potter nodded. 'Ron and I love her enough to stay members but no one else seems to care terribly much. Pretty sad, really.'

'They'd be devastated to be freed, though, Potter.'

'I know. I had one myself at one point. And Dobby sort of owned me. He was…' Potter stopped, frowning. Draco knew of the elf's death; it was in the history books, and he'd felt some regret when he'd found out how the brave elf had died. 'He was a friend.'

Draco nodded, thinking how odd it was standing in the middle of a joke shop with the boy, man now, that had been the bane of his existence, and having a civil conversation about a dead house-elf. Perhaps he should take the chance to do what he'd been gathering courage to do for a year…

'I wanted to apologise and thank you, Potter, for what you did for me…you know…after…'

Potter waved him aside. 'Your mum saved my life as did you. I'd say we're square, right?'

'If you insist,' Draco replied, relieved.

'And call me Harry.'

Draco was about to nod when several small children barreled down the aisle and crashed into Draco, sending him stumbling forward straight into Harry. Strong arms steadied him and when Draco looked up he found he was barely inches from Harry's face. For several moments he was caught up in surprised green eyes that, at first shone merrily, but soon turned serious and searching. Draco wondered why he'd always hated Harry's green eyes.

'Harry, then,' Draco breathed, unable to pull himself away from Harry's arms.

'Draco,' Harry replied, seemingly just as unwilling to let him go.

***

'That was the first time I'd felt anything approaching attraction for him,' Draco said. 'And, of course, nothing happened right here in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but it was a start anyway. He asked me to take tea with him in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.' Draco smiled as both boys grimaced – the place obviously hadn't changed since his day then.

'And you agreed?' Scorpius asked, doing a very passable imitation of Draco raising his eyebrow.

'I hardly cared where it was; the fact that it was a chance to start over was what mattered.' Draco gave the boys a small smile. He'd half expected them to cringe and ask for the short story, but they'd surprised him by showing interest. Unless they were still in shock. Draco rubbed his eyes and continued his story.

…

'Thank Merlin she's changed the décor in here,' Draco said as he stepped in to the Tea Rooms in front of Harry. 'It looks almost civilised now.'

'Watch it, you,' Harry said, laughing. 'I have to say that it's a far sight better than her Valentine's Day decorations.'

'It can't be hard to do better than stupid pink hearts and angry looking cupids,' Draco drawled.

'Did you ever bring anyone special here?' Harry asked.

Draco shook his head, looking sad momentarily. 'No, this place was far below the standards I was expected to live by. My father would have…' He stopped, furious with himself for bringing up his father and possibly ruining the mood.

A hand on his elbow directed him to a table and he sat down, whipping off his gloves and shoving them in his pocket just for something to keep him occupied so he didn't have to look at Harry.

'It's all right, Draco, you can talk about him if you want. God knows I'll probably find myself talking about those I loved that died, too. We have history, we'll have to learn to live with it.'

They ordered coffee, tea and some of the Yule log that was being offered. Seeing as it was Christmas, Harry said that he had a strange need to experience everything that was traditional, cheesy or just plain tacky about Christmas, seeing as he'd missed out on so many growing up. When their refreshments arrived, Draco stirred some sugar into his tea and picked it up, inhaling the aromatic steam.

'How do you live with it?' Draco asked. 'Your history, I mean.'

'By trying to remember that my future relies on the choices I make today and is as a result of the choices I've made every day of my life. I can choose to let all the fame and adulation turn me into an arrogant prat with nothing between my ears but where the next drink or shag is coming from, or I can use it to make other people's lives easier.'

'Ever the noble Gryffindor,' Draco said, not entirely teasing. 'What do you do when people don't let you make the choices you want to?'

Harry shrugged. 'I suppose you keep fighting until they change their minds.'

'Too easy to say that from your perspective, though,' Draco said. 'You're Harry Potter, you can do whatever you like.'

'No, I can't, not really. Every move I make is examined under a microscope.'

'Ah, now I know that feeling,' Draco said, sipping his tea. 'The things is, I think I'd rather have them following me because they love me, than following me to spit at me or throw rocks.'

'Make them stop,' Harry said. 'Stand up for yourself. The Wizengamot exonerated you. What have you been doing since the war ended?'

'Nothing,' Draco said. 'Same as a lot of people – learning how to live in a Voldemort free world.'

'A lot of people are helping to rebuild. You could do that, Draco. If you don't want people to spit on you or throw rocks, then do something that proves to them you're a decent human being.'

'What could I do? I'd hardly call having two years at the beck and call of the Dark Lord a good employment skill, and I didn't finish Hogwarts, either.'

'I'm sure there are many philanthropic avenues you could pursue if you wanted to find something.'

Draco shrugged and put own his tea cup, concentrating on his piece of cake instead. The chocolate icing and creamy filling were his favourite and he savoured a bite, closing his eyes as he chewed. When he opened them again, he found Harry staring intently at his lips. Draco felt he corner of his mouth curl up in a smile and he deliberately dragged his tongue across his bottom lip, watching in amusement as Harry's eyes followed his every move.

'Harry?' Draco asked softly, wanting to break Harry's stare so he could look into his eyes instead. It worked. Harry looked up and captured Draco's eyes. 'What are we doing?'

'I don't know. Does it matter?' Harry replied, smiling confidently. 'Can't we just take one day at a time and see where it leads us?'

Draco raised an eyebrow, not entirely surprised by the attitude. 'No plans then, just see what happens?'

'Sounds good to me.' Harry's hand reached out and covered Draco's where it lay on the table. Draco turned his hand over and curled his fingers through Harry's.

'Would this be what you meant by learning to live with our history?'

'Something like that,' Harry whispered and raised their joined hands to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to Draco's fingers.

'You're going to get me stoned or thrown into Azkaban for corrupting their hero, you do know this, don't you?' Draco could barely breathe, his heart was jumping around in his chest so much. He'd never imagined that he'd be in this position with Harry Potter but now he was, he found himself compelled to admit he liked it.

'I'm probably worth it.' Harry grinned and Draco believed him.

'Don't expect me to like your friends,' he warned.

'Don't expect me to save yours,' Harry shot back.

***

Draco took several seconds to collect his thoughts. He had many fond memories of his time with Harry, along with more painful ones than he cared to recollect. He wondered if, with the benefit of hindsight, he was endowing those good memories with more emotion and romance than there actually was. Some attempt to cling to how wonderful he'd felt then? Despite everything that happened later.

'Of course, we knew it was going to be difficult and Harry had a point. I had to learn to stand up for myself again.' Harry been right about so many things Draco barely even understood about himself.

'Was there a lot of backlash?' Al asked. Draco nodded. More than they'd expected really. They'd both been so young and naïve.

'Why did you tell everyone, then? It's not anyone else's business who you date,' Scorpius said, a frown on his face.

'It wasn't like we had a choice about it. Harry could barely walk down the street without being followed by people wanting something from him. It was a different time then – people were still so very grateful for having Voldemort gone.'

'Did he stand up for you?' Al asked quietly. 'In public, I mean?'

Draco smiled sadly. 'Of course he did. Your father…that's just how he was.'

….

'Draco, over here! The perfect tree!'

Draco laughed as he headed towards Harry's happy laughter. Christmas tree hunting was a new experience for both of them. In the past the Malfoy elves had always just procured the perfect tree for the parlour at the Manor. He had to admit this was a lot more fun; the smell of the pine trees permeated the whole area and put a bounce in his step.

As he rounded a corner he tripped over something protruding out about ankle height. Cursing, he fell, landing on his hands and knees, the puddles of partially melted snow soaking his trousers and ruining his leather gloves. 'Damn,' he said, and was about to stand when he felt a wand pressing into the side of his neck. He froze.

'Well, well, what a picture ye make, Malfoy. On your 'ands and knees in the mud and slush, right where ye belong.'

Draco didn't recognise the voice at all, but it hardly mattered; the malevolence in it couldn't mean anything good for Draco. That fact that he was defenseless right now didn't mean he had to stay that way.

'What do you want?' he said, jaw clenched tight.

'Mebbe little justice, Malfoy. A little vengeance, mebbe.'

'What have I ever done to you?' Draco tried to look around to identify who his attacker was but the wand jabbed into his neck harder and he gave up, committing the voice to memory instead.

'It's more tha' yer family dinna lose one single fing of any worth in the war.'

'I lost my father, you moron!'

'Like I said, nothin' of any worth.'

Draco growled and forced himself to his feet, despite being told to stay where he was. But if the man had intended to hurt him or kill him he would have done so already. So Draco ignored him and stood to face the man. He was in his fifties, fat and balding and shabbily dressed in clothes that looked like the dirt was the only thing holding them together.

Draco sneered. 'My father was worth ten of you,' he said and found the wand pointed directly at his chest.

The man laughed. 'Tha's very dangerous, seein' as I got me wand poked in yer chest. Could AK you as soon as look at ye.'

'And you're certifiably insane if you don't release him right now and go on your way.' Harry's calm voice came from the end of the row of snow-covered trees.

'I can handle this on my own, Harry,' Draco said, not taking his eyes off his attacker. 'He's just an uneducated boor with no idea about hygiene.' Draco wrinkled his nose appropriately at the smell.

'Right, then, I'll just leave you here to face an angry man who has a wand aimed at your chest while you insult him and make him angrier, shall I?'

'Yes, please.'

'Wait,' the man said, looking confused for a second and then angry. He pointed at Harry. 'You,' he roared. 'You piss off and I'll forget you was even 'ere.'

Harry ignored the man and crossed his arms. 'Draco, you don't even have your wand out.' Draco glanced at Harry and blinked. Harry was grinning at him!

Suddenly the hilarity of the situation dawned on Draco. This poor bloke wasn't any real threat; he was mostly all talk. Still, he did need some reminder about how to behave in the future. Draco winked at Harry.

'I don't need my wand to defend myself,' he said. He placed his hands on the man's shoulder and raised his knee sharply right into his groin. When he shrieked and fell down clutching his sore bits, Draco stepped over him and moved to Harry's side.

Harry grinned at him and then moved to stand over the man. He bent over him and whispered something that Draco could barely hear, but knew it was a threat to stay away from them in the future.

Then Harry moved back to his side. 'Don't have to worry about you not being able to look after yourself, do I?' He grinned.

'I'm learning to stand up for myself, but you look so damned good coming to my rescue, I'm thinking I will find myself needing your assistance from time to time.' Draco gave Harry a slow smile and Harry rolled his eyes.

'Yes, yes I am sure you will, now can we please go and grab this perfect tree before someone else takes it and I have to pull rank on them.' He grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him off; laughing when Draco pretended shock that Harry Potter would ever use his name to get what he wanted.

***

'Was everyone like that?' Al asked.

'Not everyone. Though in some ways Harry had a harder time over it than I did. Your Weasley relatives were not as accepting as they could have been.' Draco was very careful not to say just how difficult it had been for Harry telling them that he was dating a Malfoy. The one who'd been indirectly responsible for Bill's scarring at the hands of Greyback, and also indirectly responsible for poisoning Ron. Whose father had been responsible for Ginny almost dying in the Chamber of Secrets.

'And there's so many of them, he must have felt outnumbered,' Scorpius said, frowning.

'They're not a bad lot, really,' Al protested softly. 'At least you seem to like Rose,' he added with a teasing grin.

Scorpius blushed. 'She's really smart.'

'Rose Weasely? Really?' Draco asked. 'I thought you had more taste, son.'

Scorpius looked up, scowling at him but Draco laughed. 'I'm teasing. You can fall for whomever you like, I'll not stop you. As long as you're happy.' He happened to glance at Al as he spoke and saw the flash of jealousy mixed with defeated sorrow that crossed his face.

The parallels of the situation hadn't escaped him. Whilst Al had Rose Weasley as competition; he'd had the formidable Ginny.

…

Draco heard the whoosh of the Floo and went to greet the visitor, inordinately pleased when it turned out to be Harry. Of course Harry was still struggling to stand upright after his trip. Draco grinned at the spot of soot on Harry's cheek and after a quick hug, reached up and brushed it away.

'Hello, you,' he said. 'What are you doing here today? I thought we didn't have any plans until tomorrow.'

'Hello, to you, too,' Harry replied, planting a kiss on Draco's cheek. 'Thanks. I just stopped by to say that the Weasleys are putting up their Christmas tree tonight and I want you to come with me and meet them all.'

The smile faded from Draco's face. 'I can't, Harry. They all hate me.'

'But they love me and they'll accept who I am dating.'

'How do you know? All the things I did…'

'Are all in the past, remember?' Harry cupped Draco's cheek with his palm. 'I told you I'm not going to hide this away. We both have the right to move on and live our lives as we want to.'

When Harry put it that way, how could he argue? Because Draco knew Harry was right; he couldn't keep living in the past.

'All right, but if I end up in St Mungos because I've been hexed to within an inch of my life, I'll blame you.'

'Just be nice and they'll be nice in return.'

'I said I wasn't going to like your friends,' Draco reminded him.

'I didn't ask you to, but you can be civil, yeah? For me?' Harry kissed him then, deeply and convincingly and at that moment Draco believed anything was possible.

The belief lasted about as long as it took for the Weasley family to see just whom it was that Harry had brought with him.

When they arrived at the Burrow, Draco noticed that from the outside the place still looked like it would fall down in the slightest of breezes. Inside, the place was bedlam. There were people everywhere - mostly redheads - and the noise was deafening. Harry was grinning madly from ear to ear, obviously at home in this rambunctious environment. Draco wanted to screech at them all to just shut up and show some decorum.

Then he noticed that they were trying to coax some sort of animal out from between the branches of the Christmas tree. The poor animal was spitting and hissing; it sounded like a cat. Some were entreating it out with food, others were yelling at it and poking it. Harry and Draco's arrival went largely unnoticed in the melee.

After several moments, with Harry quietly laughing at his side, Draco rolled his eyes at their ineffective efforts. 'Oh, for heavens sake are you lot wizards or not?' he yelled over the noise. He took out his wand and cast a Stunning spell at the animal and all went quiet.

In the stunned silence, all present turned to look at both Harry and Draco, expressions ranging from confusion to disbelief and anger. Then Ginny squealed and launched herself at Harry, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly on the mouth. And then all hell broke loose, but the only thing that registered for Draco was that Harry hadn't pushed her away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Not Mine.

**Author's Notes**: Once again, these are written each day for the Livejournal's AWDT Christmas quickies. This is days 8-14 and I hope you like them.

Merry Christmas everyone.

jamie

xxxx

* * *

'If you boys don't mind, I'd like to take a break from the story telling,' Draco said, standing. 'I have some business to complete before Gringotts closes for the day.' His business with Gringotts could actually wait, but Draco needed the time to consider very carefully how he portrayed Al's mother in this story. He didn't doubt that she was a good mother and that Al loved her very much. However, Draco knew his opinion of her was coloured mainly by her role in his affair with Harry and, as such, he was hard pressed to find anything charitable whatsoever to say about her. Which meant a certain amount of revising if he didn't want to start a war.

'You still haven't told us about the blue sleigh,' Scorpius argued.

Draco sighed. 'I said I would and I will. It's not as simple as it might seem.' Draco wasn't even sure he would have the courage to tell the story without letting all the emotions of that time overwhelm him. Not for the first time he doubted his decision, but it was one he'd made with good intentions and he would see it through, even if it made him look like the biggest idiot in the world.

As it was, all the old feelings were resurfacing. The self-doubt, the thought that no matter what he did it was never going to be enough, and the resentment that followed the pain of rejection. It was all still bubbling away under the surface, no matter that he'd thought he'd moved on from that.

'You'll tell us the rest over dinner?' Scorpius asked.

'I will if you're both here,' he agreed. 'How about you take all your new furniture to the flat and set it up?'

'Good idea.' Scorpius grinned at Al. 'You can try out the new bed and all.'

'I have to fix it first,' Al replied, grinning back. 'And when I have it looking perfect you'll be wishing you'd chosen it instead,' he taunted.

'Not likely,' Scorpius scoffed and cuffed Al's shoulder. 'I love my bed. You should try it out some time and then you'll see how good it is. So much better than your mouldy old thing.'

'I don't want to hear about you two in bed,' Draco said laughing, and then stopped and blushed. 'That came out the wrong way, sorry. I'll…err…see you both at dinner, then.'

Both boys were chuckling as Draco quickly left before his mouth could get him into any more trouble.

….

The streets of the city were paved in cobblestones and Harry felt like he was back in some of the older streets of London, which wasn't surprising, as the city had been built in colonial times and thus modeled on 'home'. It brought with it more feelings of homesickness and missing his family, although the weather was balmy and warm, a far cry from England's weather.

One thing that still permeated this culture was the desire for 'traditional' Christmas ornaments. Hence each shop front was decorated with the familiar shiny baubles and brightly coloured tinsel. Every shop window had a tree, albeit a plastic one covered with blinking lights and topped by a fairy, or angel, or in some cases a star. They mostly all carried the red and white striped peppermint candy canes that Ginny and Lily loved so much and he'd stopped at a shop earlier to purchase a box. Silly really, because he could buy them at home and at a lot cheaper price than here, but for some reason it made him feel closer to home.

He'd also managed to purchase some flimsy sarong thing for Lily, as promised. Brightly coloured and definitely not suitable for winter in England, or summer for that matter, he knew she'd love it. He might make her wear heavy robes over it though; it was quite revealing.

As he strolled down the street, trainers silent on the cobblestones, he vowed that no matter what, he would be home for Christmas. It was too important to him to miss.

That was right before something whacked him on the back of the skull and everything went black.

***

Part of the story that Draco also refused to tell the boys about was the physical side of his relationship with Harry. Draco had never discussed his physical relationship with Scorpius' mother with him, nor any of those he'd had since the divorce fifteen years ago, and he wasn't going to start now.

But the storytelling had reminded him how passionate they had been, and how Draco had discovered to his immense joy, just how possessive Harry could be.

Their evening at the Weasleys had been fraught with tension and distaste – on both sides. He didn't like the Weasleys and they certainly had no time for him. They'd actively encouraged Harry to resume dating Ginny, _right in front of him_! While Harry had told them time and time again that he was dating Draco, they'd basically ignored him and continued to insert little comments into the conversation. As if it was a done deal – that Harry would come to his senses _because they said so_ and he would fall into line.

Draco had sat there and taken their abuse and snide comments politely – for Harry – but he had become furious that Harry refused to stop them from continuing. He'd treated it as a joke, but Draco had known how deadly serious they were.

By the end of the evening, not only had Draco been angry, but he'd also come to the conclusion that maybe they were right, maybe it was just a passing phase and Harry would tire of him and do what was expected of him.

…

'I don't think we should see each other for a while, Harry,' Draco said after they'd Apparated to the front of Draco's home. It would be difficult, but he needed space after being treated with so little respect.

'What are you talking about?'

Draco looked up at Harry, seeing the confusion in his face but Draco was too angry to care.

'Exactly what I said. I need space away from you and perhaps you need time to think what you really want.' Draco was barely holding on to his temper. He was wary of giving it free reign because he might say something that made their relationship break irreparably, and if he was going to lose Harry after all then he'd rather it not be because he'd fucked up.

'What I really want?' Harry repeated. He looked at Draco, clearly hurt as well as confused. 'I don't understand. I want you.'

'It certainly didn't look like it to me,' Draco snapped.

'When? I told them I was dating you, what more do you want?' Harry ran his hand through his hair and even though Draco was angry with him; the action still pulled on Draco's desire.

'They just kept on and on and you never told them to stop. They didn't respect your decision and you didn't respect me.' Draco bit his lip to stop from adding anything further.

'So this is all about me not wanting to create a scene with the only family I have?' Harry's voice was calm and collected and, Draco knew, more dangerous than if it was angry.

Draco glared at him, finally letting go some of his anger. 'No, this is about letting me sit there and be a victim all over again. You let them make me feel less than the dirt under your shoes, you let the ginger snog you in front of me and you…' he took a deep breath, 'you made me feel like a cheap piece of nothing that you would discard on a whim.'

He was shaking by the time he finished his speech, cursing that he'd opened his mouth at all, but he'd behaved; he'd not hexed anyone or been rude or made derogatory comments about the hovel they lived in.

'Draco…' Harry warned but Draco stopped him.

'I did what you said. I was civil. Not one insult passed my lips all night. I did that for you, Harry. I told you I wasn't going to like your friends and I don't, but I was the one who made the effort tonight. They…'

Draco found himself shoved against the wall, Harry's lips barely a hairs breath away; his body pressing in interesting places. He tried to squirm out and away, tried to shove Harry back, but was pinned too effectively.

'Maybe you deserved it. Maybe after all the shit you've pulled over the years you deserved to be treated badly for a change.'

'If you think that, Potter then you're not the man I thought you were and it only firms my decision that we not see each other.' Draco sneered as best he could at Harry.

'Oh no, you're mine and I'm not letting you go. Ginny and the Weasleys be damned. They need time to adjust so you'll just have to put up with it, but I will tell them in simple terms that they are to leave you be.'

Harry's leg was insinuated between Draco's thighs and making rather distracting movements against Draco's groin. Draco could only nod his agreement, because the rush of blood south seemed to have affected the functioning of his brain. He was still angry at the way he'd been treated, but fuck Harry felt good covering his body and rubbing against him.

Draco reached up and threaded his fingers through Harry's silky hair, planning on pulling him the final distance separating their lips, but Harry beat him to it and kissed him instead. Almost instantly Draco's knees shook with the intensity of the kiss. It was possessive, as if Harry was trying to crawl inside Draco's mouth and brand every tooth, ridge and crevice so Draco never forgot to whom it belonged. And he thought he never would.

At Draco's soft moan, Harry began seriously rubbing against him, hands at Draco's hips holding him in place.

'Shit,' Draco breathed as he arched and rocked in time with Harry's increasingly frantic thrusting. He wanted to touch Harry everywhere and his hands were frantic, sliding down Harry's back to his arse and gripping it as if he were afraid Harry would leave him desperate and aching to come.

'I'm still bloody angry with you,' Draco ground out from between gritted teeth, and aimed a particularly hard thrust back into Harry's groin.

'But you look like the sexiest angel I have ever seen in my life,' Harry panted back and kissed Draco into silence, where he even forgot to be angry as he was physically overcome by his orgasm when it shot through him in a burst of sunshine.

Draco clung to Harry as he rode it out, body trembling and knees shaking. He breathlessly flopped back against the wall, whispering 'yes, come on, Harry,' while Harry ground into him, finally tensing and coming several seconds later.

When they had both recovered, Harry kissed him with some tender regard, which made Draco feel loved. Perhaps he'd been a bit hasty.

'I'm sorry, Draco,' Harry whispered against his lips. 'I'll make it up to you, I promise.'

'You'd better,' he replied, kissing Harry again. 'I don't take too kindly to being treated like that.'

'I know, I'm sorry, I just…well that's just how they are and they're family, you know?'

'I do know and that's why I was prepared to be civil, but it's a two way street and if ginger comes on to you like that again, I'll find a nasty hex–'

'I don't want her, I am with you, I want you,' Harry insisted.

Draco smiled, reassured.

…

Slowly and with a headache that throbbed so loudly behind his eyes even his toes ached from it, Harry woke up. He blinked several times to clear his vision before he realised his glasses were gone, so it was bound to be pointless.

He was seated in a chair and bound to it by something invisible. A wizard, then, he thought. He squinted as he peered around the room trying to gauge what sort of place he was in. From what he could deduct, he was in some sort of large shed with piles of boxes all around and a desk in the corner, only a few feet from where he was tied up. There were lots of pictures stuck on the wall behind the desk and Harry noticed a Christmas postcard with near naked men on it wearing nothing much. At least he thought they were men, they could have been bears for all he knew. Or donkeys.

He sighed and waited for the inevitable arrival of his captor.

***

Albus and Scorpius Apparated to the back alley behind their block of flats in London, carrying several small packages of the furniture purloined from the Malfoy attic. The alley was dimly lit, but not seedy.

'Hey, it's snowing,' Scorpius said, turning his face into the lazily falling flakes.

Al looked at him and smiled. Scorpius was wrapped up in a warm fur-lined coat, with a matching hat covering his blond hair. Standing there with his face turned skywards, he looked…Albus sighed…bloody kissable. 'You look like you've never seen snow before,' he said, teasing.

'It doesn't often snow in the middle of London,' he argued, sticking his tongue out to catch the flakes.

Albus winced at the sight of his best friend's pink tongue. It was hardly fair that he should have fallen for someone so gorgeous. And someone who was his best friend - his _straight_ best friend. Although he could certainly see why his father had found Scorpius' father attractive; the good looks clearly ran in the family. Al acknowledged ruefully that he was a lot like his father after all.

'Yeah, well I bet it won't hang around long so enjoy it while you can. I'm heading in to set up this furniture.'

'All right, I'm coming,' Scorpius grouched, and followed Al around the corner and through the entrance into the flats. 'Hey, what you do think of what dad told us?' he asked as they climbed the stairs to their first floor flat.

'Was certainly a shock, that's for sure. When he first told us I had to do some quick calculating to make sure it was before he married mum.'

'I never even thought about that,' Scorpius said, surprised.

'No, well James is a couple of years older than us so I just…' he paused '…wanted to make sure, you know?'

'Yeah. What would you have done if…?'

Al shrugged. 'I guess it really doesn't matter anyway; it was all so long ago. What good would it have done to make a fuss?'

'Well, I suspect he wouldn't have told us, had there been any impropriety about it.'

Al unlocked the door and pushed it open. 'True,' he said. 'I still wonder what the sleigh has to do with anything.'

Scorpius entered the flat and grinned. 'I told you it would be some soppy thing. They probably went for a romantic ride in it or something. As long as he doesn't tell us about them having sex…'

They both looked at each other, horrified. 'Oh, no, don't you even…' Al shuddered. 'The last thing I want to hear about is my dad having sex!'

'Me either. Though it does make you wonder what having sex with a bloke would be like.'

Al snorted; he thought about that all the time. 'You can't honestly tell me that you haven't wondered before now? Your dad started seeing men after he divorced your mother.'

Scorpius scrunched up his nose and it looked so cute Al wanted to kiss him.

'Maybe I just refused to think about it.'

'Keep it that way, mate,' Al insisted. 'Kids are not meant to know their parents have sex. It's a rule or something.'

Scorpius laughed. 'Fair enough. You unpack your mouldy old bed and I'll scrape up some coffee or something.'

'There should still be some, I brought some over the other day when we moved your mountains of furniture in.'

It was a nice flat, in a fashionable part of London. Two bedrooms, bath, kitchen and a large, open lounge room that held Albus' favourite part of the whole flat – huge full-length glass doors that opened onto a small balcony. It overlooked a well-tended garden that would be wild with flowers during the spring and summer. He had visions of warm evenings sitting out there, enjoying Scorpius' company and having in depth discussions about anything and everything. Together.

Al carried his packages through to the bedroom he'd chosen and enlarged them back to their original size. He laughed at the bed; it was massive and took up most of the space in the room. Still, when he was finished repairing it, it would be a masterpiece. He would have the last laugh. He unpacked the dresser and an old wardrobe and managed to find room for them along one wall, but it left barely enough room to move on either side of the bed. Maybe he'd alter the size of the bed just a fraction, then.

'Coffee's up,' Scorpius called and Al returned to the lounge and flopped down on the squashy couch that was another gift from Mr Malfoy.

Scorpius dropped onto the couch beside him and handed Al his steaming mug. Al propped his feet up on the coffee table and sipped his drink, sighing happily.

'You made this from scratch?' he asked, surprised. He'd expected Scorpius to use magic; he usually did. Conjured coffee never tasted quite the same.

Scorpius nodded. 'I figured that we needed a decent cup after the day we've had.'

'Thanks. And it's not over yet.'

'Hm.' Scorpius patted Al's thigh casually and left his hand there for several more seconds. Al almost choked on his coffee but recovered in time. 'Imagine the parties we can hold here,' he said, grinning.

'We still have to find jobs,' Al reminded.

'Yes, but not until after Christmas at least,' he said. 'And your siblings cannot use this place as an escape. This is just ours.'

Scorpius gave Al's knee a friendly squeeze and Al wished he wouldn't; it made Al's insides drop straight to his groin, thinking of things that could just never be.

***

'Did you boys get all settled, then?' Draco asked.

'We did, thanks,' Scorpius said, walking through to the dining room where dinner was waiting. 'Al has some idea of getting some chairs for the balcony and,' Scorpius grinned, 'his bed is just about too big for his room.'

'Nothing a few charms won't fix,' Al said, nudging Scorpius with his elbow as they walked.

When they were seated, Pippy served a dinner of roast beef and all the trimmings, which was one of Draco favourites. He smiled seeing the boys so happy and comfortable with each other and he was so grateful that they lived in a world where their loyalties to their families had not been tested as his was. They were young and free to choose their path and go wherever it took them.

'So, Dad, will you tell us the rest of the story now?'

'Yeah, what happened after that evening?'

Draco allowed himself a small smirk; they were not getting that story. No, he would keep that memory just for himself.

'We made up, of course. Argued about the lack of respect and Harry promised he'd talk to them.'

'Did he?' Al asked.

'Hm,' Draco replied noncommittally. Harry may have spoken to them but it hadn't made that much difference in the end. 'We started spending a lot of time together after that; more than before. It was like something changed.

…

'Come for a walk with me,' Harry said, waving Draco's woolly hat at him.

'Are you quite all right? It's below zero out there and the snow must be two feet deep!'

'Not near the lake it isn't, and I'll cast warming charms for you, you fragile princess,' Harry teased.

Draco's eyes narrowed. 'I'll have you know that I am no princess, Potter.' He scowled and snatched the woolen hat from Harry's hands and jammed it on his head. 'Where's my coat? And you had better be good at those warming charms or I am going to…to…use your innards to warm my feet.'

Harry laughed so hard that Draco couldn't help but let his lips curl up in response. 'I mean it, now haven't you got my coat yet?'

'Here it is, my Lord.' Harry gave a formal bow and then helped a now smiling Draco on with his coat. They stepped outside and Harry cast the required warming charm over them both.

Draco sighed contentedly. It was a stunning view down to the lake. The late afternoon light cast shadows across the snow making streaks of grey that marred the pristine white leading all the way to the water's edge. What caught Draco's breath was the stillness of the lake; not a ripple to be seen on the glasslike surface. It looked so solid he was almost convinced he could walk on it.

'It's beautiful here in winter,' Draco said, tucking his arm through Harry's as they walked.

'Thought you didn't like the cold.'

'I don't; that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the scenery.'

Harry smiled and kissed Draco's cheek. 'I am looking at some pretty stunning scenery right now,' he whispered.

Draco could feel his face heating up, and tried to assure himself that Harry had overdone the warming charm, but he knew it wasn't that. He stopped walking and pulled Harry to him. 'So am I,' he replied.

Harry's arms slid around Draco's waist and Draco's pressed up Harry's chest and around his neck. Their eyes met and held, Draco feeling Harry's sense of peace washing through him, warming him from the inside.

'So are we good after yesterday?' Harry asked, brushing his lips over Draco's very gently, a chaste kiss asking for forgiveness.

'Depends,' Draco replied, the nerves in his lips crying for more kisses.

'On what?' Harry breathed the words over Draco's lips and Draco let his fingers slide through the hair on Harry's nape, wanting to drag him across that final gap, but he held himself back. The tension increased his heart rate and it was thundering so loudly in his chest he wondered how he heard Harry's question.

'On how serious this is.' Draco's voice came out in a dry whisper. He licked his lips and swallowed. 'Is this just a fling or…' Harry's nose rubbed Draco's and he inhaled deeply capturing Harry's exhaled breath. '…more?' The sound of his last word was more like a plea that came from a place of having wanted so much more for longer than he cared to admit but could never ask for.

'Nothing with us has ever been 'just' anything,' Harry said. 'Never has been, never will be,' he finished and Draco whimpered as their lips met and he allowed himself to glimpse and grasp onto that one bright light that shone, beacon-like leading the way to his future.

***

Harry had long since lost track of the time. He knew it must be morning, as the light in the building was different than when he'd regained consciousness. And it was growing warmer; he could not feel a cooling breeze anywhere and he was beginning to perspire. In the middle of the afternoon this place would be stifling. He hoped that whoever his captor was, would not leave him here alone for too much longer.

Fear at the unknown had receded; his training and years of experience had taken care of that, and he hadn't built a career on blind good luck. He was fairly confident that he'd find a way to escape. Besides, if he didn't show for his shift, Simon would send out a search party and, despite being a small underdeveloped country he had been impressed with the level of expertise within the local Aurors.

It was all a matter of listening, observing and looking for an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

Still, he didn't want to wait too long, else dehydration would weaken him and make it more difficult.

Harry passed the time by attempting to count the minutes as they ticked by in his head and, as the heat grew, tried to imagine himself home, somewhere where the snow lay thick on the ground and ice encased the branches of trees. He closed his eyes, imaging himself making piles of snowballs in preparation for an all out war with the boys; the air so cold his glasses steamed up at every breath he took.

It was a nice thought while it lasted, but as the sweat continued to soak his shirt he merely felt sticky and uncomfortable. And he had a damned itch on his nose that he could do nothing about and it was frustrating him to the point where he wanted to scream. He tried to cool himself fractionally by exhaling up over his face, but it barely made any difference. His head felt itchy under his hair from the sweat and he thought that it he couldn't move soon his leg was going to cramp up on him.

If only he had his wand…

There was a soft scratching noise from outside and Harry held his breath hoping to get some clue as to who was coming, but it was too soft.

The door opened and the outside light flooded in along with some comparatively cooler air. Harry's eyes snapped to the light but, temporarily blinded, he could see no more than a dark shape in the doorway. The shape shuffled into the room in an odd fashion and Harry squinted to try and make it out.

It wasn't until it drew near that he discerned it was a woman. She was small in height and in body and dressed in clothes that had seen better days a lifetime ago. She was unkempt, her hair a rats nest of tangles, face grubby. But her eyes were a piercing blue. She looked to be middle aged and would never have been labeled as pretty. Harry was sure that should she smile she'd have teeth missing from rows of broken and decaying stubbs. She looked anything but dangerous, Harry thought. Deranged perhaps and that held its own danger.

She'd not spoken a word since entering and as Harry watched her warily, he noticed that she was clenching one fist and releasing it by her side, and the other hand held two wands, though they were not aimed at him. Her eyes were constantly moving from Harry and them moving around the room. She looked more frightened than anything.

'Who are you?' he asked. 'Will you undo the bindings?' He tried to keep his voice steady and calming but she just shook her head vigorously, dark stringy hair falling into her face as she did.

'Why not?' he asked more forcefully.

'Because I know who you are,' came her quiet whisper. It was almost as if she were confiding a secret.

'Why does that matter?'

'I know why you're here, I know why you're here, I know why you're here,' she answered in a singsong way, albeit in a whisper, hand flexing at her side.

Harry tried to catch her eye, see if he could make some sort of connection with her, and see how dangerous she was but she evaded direct contact, tilting her head in little jerky motions every few seconds.

Harry wondered if she was an ally perhaps of his captor? This woman didn't look like she could have taken him by herself. She looked as though she barely had enough cognitive ability to function.

In evaluating his options, he realised that the only thing he could do was to try and keep her talking.

'Why am I here then?'

'You're…' she moved very close to him and the stench almost made Harry gag but he forced himself to not flinch, even when she put her face barely an inch from his, '…an Auror.' He'd been right about the teeth, he thought as his head reared back. Her voice had not risen above a whisper, but the venom with which she spat out the words spoke more than volume did.

***

'He was like a child about Christmas,' Draco said, smiling as he remembered. 'Well he was that year, anyway.'

'He still is,' Al said, pouring himself coffee from the pot on the side table and making his way back to the table. 'Mum would say that she had four children at Christmas.'

'Has he ever said why?' Scorpius asked.

'A person doesn't need much excuse to enjoy Christmas,' Draco replied. 'I seem to remember you squealing last Christmas because I'd given you the broom you were after.

'Da-ad,' Scorpius whined. 'Malfoys don't squeal; it was a very manly exclamation of pleasure.'

'Quite,' Draco replied, giving his blushing son a reassuring look.

Al shook his head, returning to the original question. 'I always just thought that he wanted Christmas to be special for us.'

'There was that,' Draco agreed. 'But it was also more than that. Remember earlier I mentioned about him wanting to participate in every Christmas tradition no matter how cheesy?'

The boys nodded. 'For a few years before he defeated Voldemort, Harry was of the opinion that he would be unlikely to survive the final battle…'

….

'We can either build a snowman, or we can build an igloo like the Eskimos live in,' Harry said.

'I always found snowmen to be rather creepy,' Draco replied, picking up a handful of snow and compacting it hard into a snowball between his hands. 'What with those long carrot noses and twigs for arms…' he shuddered. 'Before Voldemort took over the house, my nightmares used to be of snowmen.'

'A snow fort it is, then,' Harry said.

Draco turned so he could throw the ball of ice in his hand at Harry, only to be caught in the face by a well-aimed snowball, instead. It broke up and dripped ice down his neck, which slid under the collar of his coat, and he stood gasping in surprise.

'This means war, Potter!' he roared and set to making piles of balls to throw at the green-eyed git, while he tried to ignore the fact that his chest was wet from the snow and his face had a sore spot on this right cheek.

'You're on!' Harry replied and did the same.

After several minutes, Draco ascertained that he had a decent arsenal and took aim, tossing one and jumping jubilantly when it smashed right on Harry's head. 'Yes! Take that.'

Of course, Harry sent one back just as quickly and just as accurately and the battle was on, lasting until neither of them had any snowballs left to throw. Draco ran at Harry instead and they tumbled into the snow, laughing and breathless. Draco was sure he had red marks all over his face from the icy missiles but for once he was unconcerned about his appearance. He was happy and that was all that mattered.

When he looked down into Harry's eyes, he saw an answering happiness there that centered in his heart, warm and strong. Draco smiled and kissed him for long, delicious moments until he was dizzy with the lack of air.

'How about we build that snow fort now?' Harry said, warm breath misting over Draco's face.

'You'd rather play in the snow than kiss me?' He arched one eyebrow, amused more than disappointed.

Harry grinned. 'Well, I had in mind a snow fort that we could hide away in and snog until we freeze.'

Draco laughed and rolled off Harry, standing and holding out a hand to help him up. "All right, I am going to stand and watch you build this snow fort. Why do you want to build one of those anyway?'

'You hate snowmen, so this is the next best thing.'

'We could make snow angels,' he said hopefully.

'I already have my very own snow angel,' Harry said, giving him a cheeky grin.

'Merlin, Harry, you are such a sap.'

Harry laughed. 'I know, but I love Christmas. And these days it puts me in a great mood.'

'You used to hate Christmas?' Draco, who was still holding Harry's hand, moved to an old snow covered log and cleaned it off before sitting down on it and making Harry sit beside him. 'How could you hate Christmas?'

'It wasn't that I hated it; it just was never a good time for me, that's all. I was reminded very forcefully how much my family disliked me. As I grew used to it, it didn't matter so much but as a small child when your cousin receives so many presents he needs a second bedroom and you barely have enough room to stand in your cupboard under the stairs, you get the message pretty easily.'

Draco was horrified. 'You never received any gifts at all?'

Harry shook his head. 'Not until I went to Hogwarts and met Hermione and the Weasleys and Hagrid.'

'No wonder you want to enjoy Christmas now, then,' Draco said threading his fingers through Harry's and holding his hand.

'It's not only that,' Harry said, shifting on the log. 'The last couple of years before I defeated Voldemort, I was certain I was going to die in the final battle. I couldn't see a life in front of me. I had no future.' Harry grinned. 'You wonder why I don't care if anyone knows about us. It's because I don't care; I've earned the right to live my life as I see fit. I want to experience everything there is to experience. Life is too short to stress over things that won't matter five years from now.'

Draco looked at Harry thoughtfully. He was flushed from their earlier game; messy hair half hidden under a warm hat and eyes that were so honest Draco almost felt the need to look away. Out of respect for Harry, though, he kept that eye contact. He lifted his free hand and tenderly cupped Harry's face. _I want to matter to you five years from now_, Draco thought but couldn't say aloud as he leaned in and kissed the corner of Harry's mouth.

'Let's get this snow fort built then, Mr. Potter.'

***

Harry thought lying about his profession might set the woman off, so he nodded. This woman obviously had great dislike, maybe even hate for Aurors. He wondered why. Regardless of her mental state and the state of her clothing and level of personal hygiene, she was entitled to be protected by the Aurors as much as the next person.

He'd not had much experience in talking down an unstable person, but now was as good a time as any to gain some.

'Why have you bound me to the chair?' Harry asked, feeling a surge of triumph as her eyes made a fleeting connection with his wrists and he knew she'd understood the question.

'Because, because, because…' she said in that breathy, sing song whisper she'd used before.

'If you let me go now, then I won't arrest you. We can all go home and forget all this,' Harry coaxed.

'Peggy Jones gots not homes,' she sang, reaching for her lank hair and twirling a lock through her fingers.

'You don't have anywhere to live?' Harry asked. He wasn't surprised; she looked like she'd been living rough on the streets.

Peggy Jones sleeps with the bones.' She began to sway with the rhythm of the words.

Harry sighed. Apart from feeling compassion for her, he was frustrated that he couldn't free himself and it seemed like she was barely cognizant of the conversation.

'Peggy,' he said loudly. 'Peggy!' he barked, losing patience when she didn't respond to him.

She merely continued to sway to a tuneless hum she'd begun.

Damn, it was completely useless. He had to find a way to make her put down his wand. He could just about summon up enough wandless magic to perform an _Accio_, but it needed to be out of her hand before he could be sure the spell would work.

'Can I at least have some water, please?' he asked, making his voice hoarse and dry sounding.

The swaying stopped and she slipped out the door saying nothing and making barely a sound. If Harry hadn't watched her go he'd have not known. He sighed; bloody great Auror he was getting himself caught like this. Constant Vigilance had been Moody's philosophy and Harry had thought he'd applied it well. Up until now.

The afternoon wore on – Harry knew it was the afternoon because of the stifling heat. Peggy Jones, or whoever she was had not returned and no one else appeared in her place. Harry had not had water for almost twenty-four hours and he knew in this heat that was extremely dangerous.

His lips were dry, tongue feeling double it's normal size in his mouth. What was more worrying was that he'd stopped sweating.

He hung his head trying to conserve energy and black spots danced behind his eyelids. He fought to retain consciousness, refusing to let the blackness take over, but it was hard work, his brain seemed to have a mind of its own. Harry giggled at thinking his brain had a mind of its own; that was really very funny, he decided with the part of his brain that didn't have a mind of its own…

Somewhere he knew he was becoming delusional and he fought to focus on something solid. He chose the pictures he could still make out on the wall behind the desk. The one with the bears or donkey's or whatever they were. He did know that it was a Christmas card because of the hats. Santa hats. Red hats. He had a red Santa hat at home for when he was Santa. It was…he forced himself to remember it…in his this bottom drawer in the chest in the spare room. He smiled remembering the last time he'd worn it; he'd been Santa dancing around the Christmas tree and Ginny was a reindeer. No, wait, Ginny was the Christmas star on the tree…or had that been Lily? He couldn't remember and for some reason he knew he needed to remember…why?

It was Christmas and he wanted to go home. He needed to go home.

He finally sighed and let the black overtake him.

Tbc…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not Mine.

Author's Notes: Enjoy for Christmas!!! I should have the final 4 days up by Christmas Eve, because I am not home for Christmas day to post it.

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone and thank you for all the lovely reviews.I appreciate every one of them and send you all warm kisses as thanks.

jamie

xxxxx

* * *

Harry groaned. Either he was having a very nice dream where he was swimming in cool, cool water or… he had no idea, so it must be a dream, mustn't it? He shifted in his dream, feeling a trickle of cold down his back and another under his shirt that cooled his chest. His body seemed to be searching for the sustenance and he groaned again, surprised when he heard it as a hoarse croak.

Then there was cool water at his lips and he gulped at it, instinctively knowing that he craved it; necessary for his survival. He must be dreaming he was parched and dry and needing a drink. Surely when he woke he would be home in his warm house, surrounded by shiny Christmas decorations, in front of an open fire – that would be why he was dreaming he was hot - preparing to settle for the evening with some spicy eggnog.

'Wakey, wakey, Mister Auror,' the singsong voice in his dream urged. 'You is needing to be waking up now or Peggy Jones will be in big trouble.'

Harry started. He knew that voice. His eyes flew open and he stared at Peggy Jones, the reality of his situation sinking in.

She held a battered cup at his mouth coaxing him to drink more. He almost didn't want to; who knew what she had put in it, but his thirst won out over the possible danger and he drank greedily, prepared for gut wrenching pain when – if – the poison took hold.

He finished the water and she filled the cup from a bottle on the desk and held it for him again. Even though he was wary of her, he still had no choice and he finished the second cup as well. She stood back and looked at him, holding the cup in both hands.

Something about what she'd said made Harry think. 'Why would you be in trouble?' His voice barely worked though it was better lubricated.

Peggy Jones looked at him and shook her head. She had a flower in her hair now; a big red flower stuck behind her ear. She'd also changed into a less ratty dress, Harry noticed. It wasn't quite so colourless as the previous one. She smiled at him, with her rows of broken decaying teeth giving her a macabre grin and Harry was horrified to think she might be flirting with him.

The water had revived him somewhat, but he still felt weakened by his ordeal. He needed to think and fast. If she was going to be in trouble then it seemed logical to assume that someone else was calling the shots here and she may be an unwitting accomplice. Although perhaps not an unwilling one.

There was nothing for it but to try and be nice to her, respond to the flirting and maybe, just maybe he could talk her into letting him go.

'That's a nice flower in your hair,' he said, forcing a smile.

Her hand flew up to the flower, petting it as she smiled again.

'May I have some more water, please?' he asked. 'My throat is still very sore and I wouldn't like to see you get into trouble.'

'Peggy Jones gots a boyfriend,' she sang. Harry grimaced but she poured him another cup of water and held it for him to drink. Most of it ended up running out of his mouth, down his throat and into his shirt, but he didn't care; he'd just realised that she was using both hands! Where was his wand?

He was still weak but if his wand was close then he should have the energy to call it to him. He didn't have much wandless magic in his repertoire but a wandless _Accio_ was something he was sure he could manage in his desperation. He'd have to wait until she moved away from him, though, not give her enough time to grab it back or stop him.

'Thank you, Peggy,' he said when the water was all gone. How could he get her to move away from him?

'All good now, Mister Auror?'

'Yes, thank you. Could you get me some food?'

Peggy tilted her head to the side and appeared to think about his request. 'I gots a banana,' she said, nodding and turning for the door.

_Brilliant_, thought Harry. He spread out his right hand wide and concentrated as hard as he could, then whispered, '_Accio wand_!'

Wonder of wonders his wand flew from somewhere on her person, perhaps a pocket, and straight into his hand. Her delayed reaction cost her and she screeched as Harry caught the wand, aimed it at her - with difficulty but it was enough – and yelled, '_Incarcerous_!

Immediately, ropes flew from his wand and bound her tightly. She dropped to the ground still shrieking until her head bounced on the floor and she fell silent. He quickly freed himself and stood shakily, flexing his muscles, exultant.

He was free!

***

A good night sleep had done much for Draco's state of mind. The memories had not been all bad ones, although he knew that as he continued to tell the boys the story, they would become less the memories he'd like to keep and more of the ones that he'd like to forget.

The sound of eighteen-year-old feet thundering down the hall gave Draco pause to smile fondly. Scorpius had resisted every attempt both himself and his mother had made at curbing his youthful exuberance. The boy had never been one to do anything particularly quietly, unless he was doing something sneaky and then he was as wily as any spy and as quiet as a mouse. When Scorpius was young, Draco had despaired, wondering from whose loins the boy had sprung. Draco had certainly never been allowed to run in the manor as a child; not even when Lucius was away.

Eventually, he'd realised that the boy had him wound around his little finger and Draco loved him so much that he couldn't bear to repress the inquisitive nature and the joy he exuded with every breath he took.

Still, he wouldn't be a good father if he didn't remind the child of his manners _sometimes_.

Scorpius skidded to a stop at the door to the dining room but his feet slid out from under him and he promptly fell flat on his arse. Draco held back his laughter with difficulty when he saw the surprised look on Scorpius' face.

'Scorpius, the hounds of hell are not after you, nor should you feel the need to polish the floor boards on a regular basis. That's what we have house-elves for.'

Scorpius stood, grumbling and rubbing his bum. 'It's that blasted house-elf of yours.'

'Pippy?' Draco asked, shocked.

'Yes, that's the one. I'm sure he polished the floor several times yesterday. You really let him get away with too much.'

Draco laughed. 'I do indeed, but he is practically family, he's been here all his life. Besides, you've threatened him with clothes so often he knows you don't mean it.'

'And you spoil him,' Scorpius protested, leaning down and pulling up his socks.

'Maybe,' Draco agreed. 'I should think you might want to move away from the Mistletoe. Pippy hung it and it might be sabotaged.'

'Sabotaged?' Scorpius looked up at the piece of plant hanging limply over the door frame.

'When Albus comes down for breakfast, I'll tell you the story of being caught under the Weasley version of mistletoe.'

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. 'Al!' he turned his head and called out.

Draco smirked. 'And even if it is not sabotaged you might want to move, unless you're prepared to kiss your best friend.' As Scorpius skipped away from the offending plant immediately, Draco felt rather cruel pointing it out, seeing as he had an idea of the young Potter's feelings for his son, but a touch of it now when Al wasn't present was infinitely better than an awkward situation with more hurt for the boy should they both be caught under the mistletoe.

Not that he'd have any objections to Scorpius and Al being together. He might have even encouraged it had he seen that same depth of feeling in Scorpius' eyes. But it didn't seem like it was meant to be.

He smiled and said good morning to Al as he dragged himself in for breakfast. At least this story would give the boys a laugh to start them on their day. It was all the fault of those troublesome Weasleys…

…

Draco had agreed to give the Weasleys another chance but he flatly refused to meet them on their own turf and so Harry agreed that they would all meet and have Christmas drinks at Grimmauld Place. In the turmoil of all the preparations, Draco barely had time to think or worry about how he might react if Ginny began to behave as she had last time.

Harry had redecorated the gloomy old place and while it still pretended to be dark and horrible, it had somehow become cozy and warm. Especially with the addition of all Harry's Christmas decorations festooned on just about every surface and spare piece of wall. Something the old portrait of his great Aunt Black disapproved of very vocally and at ever decreasing intervals.

Draco had finally had enough of her and surrounded the portrait with the strongest Silencing spells he could think of. The sudden quiet was broken by several pats on the back and congratulations from a horde of redheads that stampeded along the hall.

_Great,_ he thought ruefully. _One annoying noise replaced by another just as annoying._ But he smiled politely and let them pass.

'Well done, Malfoy,' George said thumping him on the back. 'Welcome to the family, mate.'

Draco grimaced and tried to remember that the bruise he'd surely be sporting the next day from the overly enthusiastic welcome was surely worth it to keep Harry happy. Besides, George was one of the least offensive of the family; his sense of humour amusing Draco into begrudging respect. It couldn't have been easy losing his twin.

Draco followed them all into the lounge where Harry was welcoming everyone and handing around drinks for all. Draco moved to Harry's side and slipped a hand into his, looking for a reassuring squeeze. Harry, of course, did not disappoint and gave him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek as well.

'I hear you performed a miracle in the hall,' Harry said.

'It was nothing but a few strong silencing spells. I would have thought the man who defeated the Dark Lord would have known how to do those himself,' Draco replied casually, but secretly pleased with himself. He was even more pleased when he looked around the room and spotted Ginny with a venomous look on her face.

'You're right, of course,' Harry replied. 'We should have. I think she's just become so much part of the furniture I forget that she's there half the time.'

'At least we'll have a peaceful evening now, dear,' Mrs. Weasley said kindly.

Harry beamed, as it was obvious that the Weasley family were going to make an effort.

Draco really should have known better.

Not five minutes later, Ron and one of the other ones, Percy he thought it was, began to snicker, and they seemed to be directed toward Draco. He frowned when the snickers became outright laughter and their looks were aimed over his head. Fearing some trick or other was going to dump a load of dragon dung over his head he looked up fearfully.

All he saw was mistletoe, and he relaxed. He could certainly handle snogging Harry in front of everyone; especially Ginny.

He turned towards Harry in preparation for the kiss to end all kisses, but something weird happened. Instead of wanting to snog his boyfriend, he was feeling an overwhelming compulsion to undo his trousers and take them off!

'Harry?' he asked, horrified that his hands were heading towards the fastenings of his trousers, seemingly of their own accord. He had to stop himself somehow!

Harry gave him a puzzled look and just as Draco finished undoing them and let them fall to the ground, Harry's expression cleared and he grinned. Harry was grinning at him? There were several laughs from the others in the room and even, Draco heard through his horror, a whistle. What was happening?

Harry turned to George. 'You used the 'Mooning Mistletoe' didn't you?'

Draco had no idea what the fuck that was, but he was standing in Harry's lounge room with his trousers round his ankles, displaying his deep green boxers and fighting the irresistible urge to drop those as well. He looked frantically at George who was grinning manically.

'Sure did. Had to welcome him to the family properly. Never took you for a boxers man, Malfoy.'

'And they match Harry's eyes,' Ron chimed in, red in the face from laughing so hard.

'That's hardly fair, guys,' Harry protested and Draco heard Mrs. Weasley admonishing George, too. Draco was definitely going to reevaluate his respect for that bloody Weasley.

No matter how hard Draco fought his need to rid himself of his boxers as well, he knew it was a losing battle as his thumbs were under the elastic. Abruptly he turned as he lost the battle and pushed them down, desperate to get away from them all. He knew his face was flaming and all thoughts of handling himself with even one ounce of dignity disappeared when he tripped over his bloody trousers and fell face first through the door, leaving his bare arse on display for all to see.

On the verge of tears he slowly and silently picked himself up, dressed and left, Ginny's malicious laughter loudest of them all ringing in his ears.

…

Draco could laugh about it now, but at the time he'd never thought he'd ever get over how they'd treated him. After that incident though, he had to admit that the Weasleys, with the exception of Ginny, treated him like part of the family. He reflected, amused, that he no longer had anything left to hide.

***

Al sat in silence through Mr. Malfoy's revelations, and while Scorpius roared in laughter at hearing how his father had ended up face first on the floor baring his bum to a room full of Weasleys, Al reflected that his family had given a very poor account of themselves. He wasn't naïve enough to treat every word Mr. Malfoy said as unbiased; the rivalry between the Weasley and Malfoy families had a long history that was only being breached with any success by this generation.

Uncle George and Uncle Ron's tricks and practical jokes were well known and accepted by the family generally, as long as no one was hurt. Grandma Molly seemed to be the sole dissenting voice and was forever telling them to grow up. It was a bit of a ridiculous demand seeing they made a living from it but she tried nonetheless. Al had been the butt of so many practical jokes he'd about lost count. He'd even been the perpetrator of several of his own in revenge. It had always seemed to him to be harmless fun with no malicious intent.

That didn't mean he could not empathise with Mr. Malfoy. It must have been incredibly mortifying for him, and suddenly he was ashamed of his father for letting it happen. And he had no words for the sick feeling he had in his stomach over the way his other seemed to have been behaving. He was almost positive that there was more Mr. Malfoy was not saying.

'I hope my father apologised,' Al said abruptly.

Mr. Malfoy looked at him and immediately allayed his fears.

'Of course he did. I refused to come out of the kitchen, though. Couldn't face them all. I heard him giving them all an earful about how that wasn't what he meant by accepting that he was dating me. Then we had a long discussion in the kitchen after they'd all come through and apologised. Even your mother,' he finished kindly.

'Good,' Al said, still embarrassed by their behaviour even though it was so long ago and forgotten about.

'Don't think too harshly of them; they were trying to treat me as they would anyone else in the family, and your father reminded me that it was no good being stressed over something that wasn't going to matter in five years.'

'He seems to have said that a lot.' Al gave a grudging smile.

'He was right, though. I can look back on it now and laugh. I imagine I must have looked a sight.'

Al blushed; he'd just had a terribly inappropriate thought of what Scorpius might look like face down and arse up…

He was saved by the whoosh of the Floo and Lily's head appearing. 'Sorry to interrupt but can I borrow Al for a few hours?' She gave Al a pleading look.

'Sure, what is it?' Al asked.

'I have no idea what to get James. I'm his Secret Santa. You know him better than I do, will you come shopping with me?'

Al was torn between wanting to hear the rest of the story and getting away for a while to think about all he'd heard. The conflict must have shown on his face because Mr. Malfoy spoke.

'We can continue this later if you wish, Al. Hello, Lily.' He gave her a warm smile.

'Hello, Mr. Malfoy,' she replied, giving him a shy grin. 'Sorry, I should have said hello first. Hello, Scorpius.'

'Hello, Lily Luna,' Scorpius said, teasing. Scorpius thought her second name funny and so teased her about it regularly.

She poked her tongue out at him and then turned to Al. 'So you'll come with me?'

'Yes, all right. I'll come straight away.'

…

'So what did I interrupt?' Lily asked later as they wandered down the main street in Diagon Alley.

Al had no intentions of telling his sister the story; he was beginning to wonder why Mr. Malfoy was telling it to he and Scorpius in the fist place. 'Nothing much.' He shrugged. 'Do you have any idea what James might like?'

'No.' She sighed dramatically. 'Want to swap? Who did you get?'

'Dad,' Al said. 'You're welcome to him if you like.' The way Al felt about him at the moment, he'd likely end up with last week's _Quibbler_ pulled from the bottom of the owl cage.

'No,' she groaned. 'He's worse than James. All he ever says is "Whatever you get me will be wonderful.' At least with James, I can always settle for something from the Apothecary for those potions of his he has bubbling away in his room.'

'You hardly need me, then.' Al said elbowing her in the ribs playfully.

They wandered along the street, knocking on the window of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and waving at Uncle Ron, as they passed. This close to Christmas the streets were adorned with decorative ornaments and lights and trees, which gave it a festive atmosphere. And there were people everywhere. Worse, it seemed to Al that there were couples everywhere he looked. Holding hands, kissing, leaning up against each other, staring into windows and speaking excitedly or whispering close together, sitting in cafes drinking hot chocolate and just generally being…coupley. After hearing about his dad and Mr. Malfoy, Al tried to imagine what it would have been like for them back then. Even these days there were not that many gay couples. They would have had a lot to contend with – Mr. Malfoy's involvement in the war and his dad's reputation as the Chosen One. They would have had an easier time hiding it from everyone. Just like he hid his feelings for Scorpius.

Lily was chattering on about something inconsequential and suddenly Al wanted to tell Lily about Scorpius. Lily was his favourite sibling; always had been since the day she'd grabbed on to his finger as a baby and refused to let go.

'Lily, what would you say if I said I was gay?' he asked, then kicked himself. It was a stupid question, not like he could take it back if she had an unfavourable reaction.

She turned to look at him intently for a moment and then smiled. 'You're serious aren't you?'

He nodded, encouraged by the smile.

'Then I'd say good for you and do Mum and Dad know?'

Al breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thanks, and no they don't and I don't want you telling them, all right?'

'As if I'd say anything to them. That's something you have to do when you're ready. Which I suspect will be when you find someone you want to go out with.'

Smart girl, Al thought. 'True, I don't envision telling anyone until that happens.'

'Then why tell me now? Oh…' Her eyes lit up. 'Who is it?'

'No one,' he protested weakly, her perception having surprised him though he really should never be surprised at anything Lily said or did.

'Liar,' she shot back. 'I can always tell when you're lying, Al, you go red around the collar.'

'Bugger,' he said laughing. 'All right I'll tell you, but nothing will come of it; he's straight.'

'Well, that's a shame,' she said sympathy flashing across her face.

'Hm,' Al agreed, a dull pain settling in his chest, thinking of it.

'Oh, no,' Lily said, linking her arm through his. 'You have it bad, don't you?'

'The worst,' he agreed, comforted by her touch.

She was silent for a moment and then stopped walking suddenly, forcing Al to stop and turn to look at her. She appeared stricken. 'The only person you know well enough to fall in love with, is…Scorpius,' she whispered.

Al's face fell; he could feel it crumbling. The relief that someone else knew and understood how hopeless it all was, somehow made his body think it was all right to want to blubber like a ruddy girl.

Lily hugged him so tightly he could hardly breathe, murmuring that everything would be all right. He didn't believe her and his throat ached with the need to just let it all out.

***

Harry made sure that Peggy Jones was securely bound, before he took the time to stretch his limbs properly and flex his wrists. He actually felt rather sorry for her, but there was nothing he could do about her situation; she would have to face the consequences of her actions. But he did hope they were lenient with her.

Once he had ensured that she could not escape the ropes that tied her even if she woke up, he sat down on the chair again, still a bit lightheaded from his ordeal. He quickly sent off a Patronus asking it to lead Simon back to him. Whoever it was that had knocked him on the head was still out there and had done so for a reason. He needed to stay put until this person showed up, and arrest him or her. Or them, he realised; it could be a whole gang.

Hopefully, Simon would arrive shortly and have some back up with him.

After he'd rested and finished the water in the bottle, he stood and made sure the rest of the room was secure and that there were no traps to hinder the capture of whoever was behind the attack.

A loud rumble from his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since the day before and his body was shouting out it's displeasure with the situation. He wondered if he should search the rest of the building in the hopes of finding some food, but decided safety was better than satisfying his hunger; he should stay with his prisoner. It didn't stop him thinking about food, though, and the more he thought about food the more he wanted it.

The light was changing outside, Harry could see, and the stifling heat of the day seemed to have abated somewhat. He thought it must be nearing sunset by now and the thought of dinner – a thick juicy steak, with chips and eggs the shape of Christmas trees like Lily had cooked for him for breakfast last Christmas – made his stomach cramp up in protest.

The cramping was so severe, for a moment he considered the water had been poisoned after all, but after several seconds the pain eased and he realised that drinking so much water too quickly had probably caused them. He sincerely hoped the water would stay in his stomach and not find its way back up his throat.

A large green and red parrot Patronus flew through the wall and fluttered around the room before settling on the table. Simon's voice said, 'On my way, Harry, and bringing back up.' Relieved, he stood again and paced around the room to work out any stiffness left in his legs from sitting all day in the one place. It wouldn't do to be hit by a curse because he couldn't move fast enough.

A noise from outside had him on full alert. It might be Simon, but it might not. When his Patronus did not appear, he knew that it was not the MLE officer. He picked up his wand and hid himself in the corner as best he could.

'Jones! Where are you, you useless dimwit?' the male voice called. When he received no answer, the man continued to berate her. 'Can't fucking do one damned thing right. Should never have let her remember what she saw in the first place. Stupid bloody woman, where are you?'

Harry remained still, heart thumping loudly as the voice drew closer. He wasn't afraid; he just hoped that the man wasn't too powerful, as in his weakened state he might be no match. He did, however, have surprise on his side. That would have to do.

'If you're in there talking to that damned Potter, I'll break what's left of your teeth and shove them down your throat, you crazy bint!'

The door opened and the man stepped through. Harry stared in shock as a familiar face stared down at an immobilised and bound Peggy on the floor. As the man looked up, suddenly afraid, and saw the empty chair, he drew his wand.

Harry was frozen in shock and luckily in the shadows or else he'd have been captured again, because standing in front of him was someone he knew quite well and had done for several years, though no one had seen him for the last three. It was rumoured that he had moved to Europe.

The person who had knocked him on the head, was none other than Blaise Zabini.

***

After hugging him for as long as it took for Al to get himself back in control, Lily stepped back and studied him.

'You'll do,' she said, nodding.

'For what?'

'Come with me. We're going to by you something that's a total knock out to wear Christmas day and Scorpius can eat his heart out.'

'Lily, I am not going to try and seduce him!' Al exclaimed, shocked.

'Why on earth not?'

'Because he's straight for one thing and my best friend for another! On what planet would tying to seduce him be a good idea?'

'I never said you had to jump him, just make him sit up and take notice. Surely you can do that? Some new clothes, fix that hair of yours - which is so much like dad's it's like you just transplanted it straight from his head – and things might change.'

'No, I'm not doing it,' Al said sternly and moved to walk away.

'Would you rather go and sit on Santa's lap and ask him for a Scorpius for Christmas?' she mocked.

'I hate you; you are not my sister.' Al was hurt; he hadn't told Lily how he felt about Scorpius to have her try and _fix_ it, merely to lighten his heartbreak a little.

'Al…'

'Why can't you just leave it? I'm all right with us being friends. It's enough.' Even he could hear the lie in his own voice. He sighed shakily and then took a deep breath. 'I can't risk losing him as my best friend, Lily, I just can't and if it means never ever telling him how I feel then that's what it means, because I'd rather have him with me as a friend than not have him at all.'

'All right, I'm sorry,' she said, voice soft and apologetic now. 'I hate seeing you hurting so much.' She looked at him intently. 'Will friendship be enough?' she asked gently.

'It will have to be, there is no other choice.' Determination to make it enough hardened Al's voice.

He hadn't fooled Lily, though, and he knew it.

…

While Al was gone, Scorpius seemed at a loose end and looked like he'd no idea what to do with himself. Draco found him sitting in the lounge pouring over old family photo albums. For several minutes he stood and watched his son, so much like himself, smiling at each of the pictures and studying them closely. Al and Scorpius were together so often that it almost seemed strange that he wasn't there alongside Scorpius, dark hair in stark contrast to the blond, sharing laughter and their usual teasing banter.

Draco couldn't help reflecting that they could have made a beautiful couple.

'Missing Al?' he asked, smirking when Scorpius jumped.

He nodded. 'Some. Seems like we're always together,' he said, unknowingly echoing Draco's observation.

'You're very close,' he said. 'Almost like brothers.'

Scorpius turned and looked at him questioningly. 'What are you getting at?'

'Nothing,' Draco assured him.

'For a moment there I though you were going to tell me Al was my long lost brother. That you had a fling with Al's mum, too.'

'Scorpius! That was rather uncalled for.'

Scorpius blushed. 'Sorry, but why are you asking me about Al?' He still looked confused. 'We've been best friends for seven years, Dad, nothing's changed.'

Draco sighed. 'I know. I was standing watching you as you went through the photos, thinking how you remind me so much of myself at your age, as Al looks so much like his father.' He smiled. 'All this talk of Harry and myself at your age had me wondering if you'd ever thought of…'

Scorpius' eyes widened. 'No, Dad, I'd never thought of that. Al is my best friend and I love him but I could never _fancy_ him.'

Draco nodded. 'It would be fine if you did, though, but I understand.' Draco had known that of course, but it always did well to have confirmation. His heart went out to Al, wishing the boy could be happy, but hoping for the sake of their friendship that he wasn't planning on telling Scorpius how he felt. Then both of them would be heartbroken and as much as he didn't want Al hurt, one hurting was better than both.

***

'Well, maybe that's not the entire truth,' Scorpius said hesitantly.

'What wasn't?' Draco asked studying his son's face closely. Scorpius still had his head down, pretending to look at the photos in the album, but Draco would bet that he wasn't even aware of who he was looking at.

'When I said I'd never thought of me and Al…' A flush stained Scorpius' face; a definite side effect of having pale skin.

'Oh.' Draco refrained from asking him anything else, preferring to let Scorpius speak as much or as little as he liked. 'That's a perfectly normal thing to do,' he said to reassure the boy.

'Should I tell Al what I was thinking?' Scorpius looked at him, begging for advice. No matter how much Scorpius insisted that he was a grown man, underneath it all he was still Draco's small child who needed him.

'Well, that depends on what the outcome was,' Draco answered delicately.

'It was weird, Dad,' Scorpius said. 'I mean, not awful weird but…weird.' Scorpius gave him a helpless look.

'I imagine it would be, yes,' Draco said. 'How about you ask Al if he's ever had those thoughts?'

'Bad enough admitting them to you, let alone Al,' Scorpius mumbled and went back to the photos, turning the pages and studying them. 'Hey, who's this?' he asked, pointing to a photo taken the Christmas he'd been going out with Harry. In fact it had been Harry that had taken the photo. In it were himself and Pansy and Theo, with a sulky Blaise hovering in the background and occasionally wandering out of the shot, only to return and stand on his own, arms folded and expression grim.

Scorpius was pointing to Blaise.

'That's Blaise,' Draco replied. 'He was a friend of mine at Hogwarts.'

'Why is he looking like someone killed his pet Kneazle?'

'Blaise never liked Christmas much. His mother seemed to… marry… a lot, so Blaise spent most of his youth moving from house to house and even to different countries. He used to say, "I wonder who my dad will be this Christmas," and so the holidays always made him angry and resentful.'

'I bet he ruined it for everyone,' Scorpius said.

'We were used to him, but that year, Harry made him smile like I'd never seen him do at Christmas before.'

'That was when you were dating Harry, then?'

Draco nodded. 'Blaise was being a real arse about Christmas and sulking as he usually did. I suspect I had less time for him, too, as I was seeing so much of Harry.' Draco smiled as he recalled exactly how much of Harry he was seeing back then. They'd yet to have sex, although with the amount of orgasms they'd pulled, sucked and rubbed out of each other they may as well have called it sex. Draco had felt like he was walking on a cloud of emotion and he'd wanted his friends to feel just as good.

He continued, 'Harry was with us this day, and after a few hours we were all ready to pull out hair out over Blaise because he was loudly complaining about every single thing. Well, Harry dragged him into Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. They were gone for about half an hour and when they exited the shop, Blaise had a huge smile on his face and a bag of goodies under his arm. He never did tell what happened in that shop for that half hour, but Blaise mentioned later that his current 'dad' wasn't going to be able to tell his arse from his elbow for a few weeks while he recovered.'

'What's he doing now?' Scorpius asked, grinning.

'I have no idea. Last I heard he'd headed off to Europe, spending some of the money his mother left him.'

Scorpius leaned into Draco's side and Draco smiled, surprised, and put his arm around his son's shoulder. It had been years since Scorpius had initiated this sort of physical contact, and Draco had missed it. A desire to care for and protect Scorpius spread in his chest, prodded into action by his son's sudden vulnerability.

'You all right?' he asked.

Scorpius nodded. 'I'm fine. Thanks, Dad.'

***

As suddenly as he'd been startled, Harry was just as quick in recovering, and he raised his wand and shouted '_Expelliarmus_! Blaise's wand flew from his hands and into Harry's and Harry quickly bound and secured him. He watched impassively as the man struggled to free himself, knowing it was hopeless.

'Are you going to tell me why you whacked me on the head and kidnapped me?'

'Why should I?' Blaise grunted.

'Because if you don't I am taking you back to England and you can deal with the Aurors there.' It was an empty threat; Harry had no legal right to take him back to England. On the other hand, _something _must have gone wrong back home for Blaise to have left everything and be living here, _like this_!

Blaise looked at him and tightened his lips, as if to say 'you're not getting anything out of me.'

'I could always try _Veritaserum_,' Harry said lightly.

'You're still a bloody arse, you know that?'

'So I've been told,' Harry agreed mildly. 'So, tell me why.'

'Because you were there,' Blaise mumbled.

'Because I was there?' Harry repeated, astounded. 'You're just nonchalantly walking down a street at night and randomly picked a guy to whack over the head?'

'Not quite like that.' Blaise sighed and stopped struggling. 'I'd seen you the day before and thought you might be after me, so I followed you, hit you over the head and brought you here.'

'Why would I be after you, Blaise?' Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.

Blaise shrugged as best he could in the confines of the rope.' Couple of potions deals went wrong and began causing all sorts of problems with the users. They weren't exactly legal deals, Potter.'

'You're a bloody idiot, you know that, don't you? Hitting me on the head really only made your situation worse. And for your information, I was not after you. I'm here to stop the sale of some stolen Dark artifacts. You wouldn't happen to know anything about those would you?'

'As a matter of fact I would,' Blaise replied. 'Get me out of this and I'll tell you what I know.'

Harry thought for a moment. On the one hand letting Blaise go was not proceeding according to the law, and yet he could solve his case and get back home in time for Christmas if he made this deal. Images of a food-laden table came to mind - turkey and all the trimmings – and it made the deal for him.

'All right. What about Peggy?" he asked.

'I don't care what you do with that dumb cunt, you can–' He was cut off as he doubled over in pain when Harry's foot connected with Blaise's ribs.

'Watch your mouth,' he said. 'There is no one else here and I can do damage to you that no one will ever find and fix.'

Harry saw Blaise gulp and he stepped away again. 'She's just a random, Potter. Happened to see me as I was carrying you back here and tagged along. Though I'd use her to look after you while I did my business. But of course, if you want a thing done well you have to do it yourself,' he finished bitterly.

'I don't want to _Obliviate _her; it seems like she's had one too many of those already.'

'Just let her go. Everyone around here knows she's crazy anyway; her ramblings about catching an Auror will go overlooked.'

The sound of several cracks of Apparition outside warned Harry that Simon had arrived – after all the action, typically. He smiled and went to meet them. Peggy would be allowed to leave but Blaise would be taken to the local MLE officers and charged.

***


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not Mine

Author's Note: here are your last three days! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them. I wish you all a happy Christmas/holiday period. Stay safe and have a Happy New years as well.

jamie

xxxx

* * *

Al arrived back at the Manor later, in time for dinner. Draco paid careful attention to the two boys and reexamined how they interacted with each other. There didn't appear to be any difference, and he didn't really expect there to be. Just because Scorpius admitted he might have wondered about himself and Al, didn't mean there was anything to it. Perhaps only the discussion of his past with Harry, who looked so much like Al, might have prompted the boy's thoughts.

Still, things were rarely as they seemed on the surface; Draco had learned that a long time ago, taught by better, harsher teachers than these two boys.

'You boys done all your shopping now?' Draco asked.

'Just about. I still have to get something for Dad, assuming he'll be home in time,' Al said.

'I'm sure he will be,' Draco said, smiling.

'And I have to get Al something. Bloody git has just about everything; he's so hard to buy for,' Scorpius teased, grinning.

'Oi!' Al exclaimed, elbowing Scorpius in the stomach playfully. 'You know I'll be happy with you agreeing to do your share of the housework charms in the flat.'

'That's what house-elves are for,' Scorpius protested, rubbing his stomach.

'And where are we going to get a house-elf? Aunt Hermione would have a fit if I tried to smuggle one in.'

'We can borrow Pippy,' Scorpius said grinning.

'No, I am too scared to let that house-elf out of the manor. No telling what trouble he'd get up to,' Draco said. 'He'd probably go around telling people he's family.'

Draco laughed and the boys joined in good naturedly.

'Anyway, Dad, carry on with your story.'

'All right. Just let me think about where to start.'

Perhaps it was time to start on when things began to go wrong for real.

The day had started so well; Draco having spent his first night in Harry's bed. When Draco woke, he'd found Harry draped over him and around him, tangled in a warm sleepy mass of limbs and torso. Draco merely snuggled down into Harry's arms and fallen back to sleep, a feeling of extreme peace pervading his whole being.

He probably should have known that things were too good to last.

…

'Time to get up, Blondie,' Harry whispered in Draco's ear, warm breath tickling the fine hair on his cheek.

'Are you mad?' Draco grumped from under the covers. 'What is this fascination you have with freezing cold, Potter?'

Harry dived under the covers and tickled Draco's belly, blowing raspberries on it and making Draco squeal…er … yell. 'Potter, you idiot,' he said, but he was silently laughing. Who knew his belly was ticklish?

Harry's flushed face appeared from under the covers and he grinned. 'But you love me anyway,' he quipped and jumped out of bed, naked as the day he was born, and ran quickly to put his clothes on.

Draco sighed, wondering if Harry even realised what he'd said. And the problem was, it was probably true. After last night, Draco was fairly sure he was falling in love with Harry bloody Potter.

He changed the subject. 'Why are we up at this hour on a weekend?'

'Because I have some last minute gifts to buy and I know you haven't got me anything yet, so move that pretty arse of yours because I want a Christmas present.'

Draco couldn't help but laugh at Harry's presumptuousness, even if he was right. Draco was having an awful time selecting the perfect gift for Harry.

'But wouldn't you much rather snuggle under the covers with me?' Draco tempted.

'Yes, of course, but if we get to the shops early then the crowds will be manageable. As soon as they realised who I was last year, I could barely move for people wanting to talk to me and touch me.' Harry shivered. 'So now I shop early when I know there'll be big crowds; less disruptive for everyone then.'

Draco sighed and gave in to the inevitable. He was getting up early on a weekend to go shopping with Harry. It was the sensible thing to do but Draco wondered if he'd ever get used to Harry's fame.

Before long he was dressed and ready to go; hat, scarf and gloves all charmed to keep his fingers and toes toasty warm. Harry was similarly dressed and he grinned at Draco.' You look adorable with your hat and scarf on. Why did I never notice it before?'

'We were too busy hating each other, Golden Boy,' Draco replied, leaning in to kiss Harry's plump lips. 'I could ask when did you get hot, but I think it rather redundant, don't you?" he whispered, smiling.

Harry smiled back, amusement flashing in his eyes. 'As long as we're in agreement now, then that's all that matters, right?'

'That's right, Mr. Potter.' Draco slid his hand up to cup Harry's cheeks with his gloved hands and kissed him again; a tender slow kiss meant to convey a depth of feeling Draco was unused to openly expressing. His heart jumped when Harry responded in the same manner.

After several long moments, Draco slowed the kiss and finally parted their lips reluctantly. 'Now, we were going shopping, I believe?' His voice was husky as if unused for a long period of time.

Harry's voice was just as hoarse when he replied, 'I'd much rather be back in my bed with you but…'

The light flush across Harry's cheeks and the breathy quality to his voice told Draco all he needed to know, and he took Harry's arm and Apparated them both to Diagon Alley.

'We're going to have to shop alone if I am to get you something without your knowledge,' Draco said. 'How about we meet back here in an hour?'

'Sounds good,' Harry said and kissed Draco again before heading off to do his own shopping. Draco watched him go, smiling after him, enjoying the confident swaying of his shoulders as he walked and the long, assured strides he took.

Draco had no idea what to get Harry, but thought he might start with some Quidditch books or even look at some new equipment. He had an hour so he decided to start at the book shop and go from there.

Harry had been correct about the crowds being less at this time of morning. The shops were barely open and there were only a few early birds out in the cold doing their shopping.

Unfortunately, when he walked into the book shop, the first person he saw was Ginny Weasley. She didn't see him initially but as he moved along the aisle, she looked up and smiled at him. Draco smiled hesitantly back, unsure of just why she was being nice to him.

'Hello, Draco,' she said cheerily.

'Hello,' Draco replied politely, still confused and wary as to the change in attitude.

'Oh, I'm over all that fighting,' Ginny said, waving a hand in his direction as if to dismiss his fears. 'Harry said he's dating you and so that's all there is to it.'

'Why?' Draco asked. There must be some other reason; she wasn't the type to just give him up like this.

She gave him a complacent smile, and Draco knew he wasn't going to like what her answer would be. 'Because I know one day he'll come back to me. I can give him what you can't, _Malfoy_, I can give him a family of his own. He'll have his little _fling_ with you, get you out of his system and then he'll come to me when he's ready to settle down and raise a family.'

As she walked out of the shop, Draco could only stare after her, knowing deep in his bones that she was right. He couldn't give Harry anything like a family.

***

Draco paused in his tale, finally coming to the part of the story that had broken his heart at the time. He still had reservations about telling this part of it to the boys, especially Albus because it involved his parents so intimately. But as the blue sleigh was an integral prop in his story, despite the embarrassment to himself, he would just tell it. Besides, both Al and Scorpius were enthralled by the tale and wouldn't let him _not_ finish it now in any case.

'Didn't you hate my mother for saying something like that?' Al asked, concern in his green eyes. 'Especially as it turned out she was right?'

Draco shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance. It was all so long ago, now. 'At the time, no, I think I always knew she'd win, but it made me want to fight harder to keep him.'

'And what did he have to say about all this when you told him?'

'Why would I tell him? She was like family and she had a point. I _couldn't_ give him a family.'

Al sighed and Draco could see the emotions warring in Al's eyes.

'I still don't get what any of this story has to do with the blue sleigh,' Scorpius said, breaking the tension with a grin.

Draco looked away, feeling the telltale warmth of a blush rising to his cheeks. At the time, wrapping himself in Christmas tinsel, decorating his privates with a bow and delivering himself in the blue sleigh had seemed like a good idea to convince Harry he should stay with him. Perhaps he could leave that bit out…

…

Ginny's words had more effect on Draco than he would have liked. They seemed to echo in his thoughts, forcing themselves to he heard above his belief that Harry felt something real for him and would stay.

He left the shop without a gift for Harry and headed for their meeting place, knowing he had a lot of thinking to do. Should he give in to what was becoming something inevitable? Break the relationship now while he might still emerge relatively undamaged? Should he fight and maybe lose anyway?

He sat on a bench waiting for Harry, deep in thought and wondering if he should broach the question of family. Perhaps Ginny's insistence that Harry would want a family so much was wishful thinking on her part.

Some time later, Harry strolled around the corner, whistling a tune off-key and trying to look innocent, though his eyes had a wicked look in them. He grinned; his face lit up when he saw Draco and he bounded over and flopped down on the bench beside him.

'Finished?' he asked, leaning in for a kiss.

'All done,' Draco said, giving him a smile in return. He decided that he had to ask.

'I was thinking,' Draco said.

Harry gasped in mock surprise. 'Who would have thought…?'

Draco elbowed him in the ribs and scowled playfully at him. 'I was thinking,' he started again. 'Christmas got me thinking about family and how little of it I have left, and I was wondering if you see a family in your future.'

'Serious thoughts for such a festive season,' Harry replied, clearly puzzled.

'I'm a very serious person, Potter.' Draco tried to give him a stern look but it faltered into a faint smile under Harry's responding grin.

Harry slipped his arm around Draco's waist and pulled him close. 'Are you trying to get rid of me?'

'What? No, I was just wondering, that's all.' He settled comfortably against Harry's side. There was no way he was going to give this up without a fight.

'Serious answer, then,' Harry said. 'Some time in the future, maybe there might be children. I can't predict that. But not for the foreseeable future anyway. I am having too much fun being free to live my life how I choose.'

'But you do want children?' Draco pushed.

'One day, yes,' Harry affirmed.

Draco nodded; he had his answer. Eventually he would lose Harry, but not yet, and there was still time to make it virtually impossible for Harry to leave him easily.

He needed to start by finding Harry the perfect gift.

Later that day, he thought he might have an idea. Harry's love of all things Christmas had sparked the desire to want to share all the things that brought him joy, so the rest of the afternoon was spent in preparation. He also let Harry know he had a surprise for him and to meet him in Hogsmeade out the front of the Three Broomsticks.

Some people, he knew, would curse him for being a romantic fool but Harry seemed to like that, and he was determined to do whatever it took to keep his Harry with him and not lose him to Ginny's clutches.

Snow was falling as he stepped into the bright blue sleigh. There were charms on it to keep him warm, a charm to keep steaming mugs of cocoa liberally stuffed full of marshmallows warm, and the horse that drew it was suitably attired with Christmas tack. Draco was wrapped warmly in a fur coat that draped to his ankles, and little else. He'd been rather embarrassed earlier when selecting the tinsel and bow that would decorate his body but he was certain that Harry would appreciate the romantic sleigh ride and then being able to unwrap his present.

He'd even managed to work out how to Apparate everything into Hogsmeade. It was the perfect picture postcard village for his romantic sleigh ride and, while he was nervous about being seen as a silly romantic sap, excitement tickled his belly in anticipation.

Having safely arrived, Draco took the reins of the horse and urged it forward. The lights of Hogsmeade twinkled against the snow, reflecting the glow of Christmas windows. Snug and warm as he was in the sleigh, he still lifted his face to the falling flakes and grinned like the child he had been once as he licked them from his lips.

He felt giddy with happiness as he rounded the corner and traveled along the snow-covered road to the pub.

As he approached, his joy vanished like a window suddenly being smashed and exploding in shards of pain all around him.

Harry was waiting for him, of course he was, but he was in the arms of Ginny, who was kissing him like she owned him.

He let go of the reins but the momentum carried him to a smooth stop right in front of them. Harry broke away from Ginny and looked up at Draco smiling, wide eyes shining with delight.

'This is my surprise?' he asked. Draco was speechless with rage, defeat, and an agony deep in his chest that threatened to break him apart if he examined it too long.

Something of his pain must have shown in his face, because Harry's smile dropped and he moved toward Draco.

'Draco, this is not what it looks like…'

But Draco didn't stop to listen and Apparated himself and the horse and sleigh home.

…

'Oh, Merlin,' Scorpius breathed, the shock written allover his features.

Albus had closed down his emotions, Draco saw with a frown. His face was as blank as he'd ever seen it.

'Why would she do that?' Scorpius asked. 'In fact, why would _he_ do that?'

'Because my mother is a calculating bitch, that's why,' Al snarled.

'Now, Al, I didn't tell you that story to make you hate your mother. They both Owled me for weeks after, trying to explain that it had just been a Christmas kiss between friends, but I was too hurt and humiliated to listen.'

Al stood and paced the room, hands running through his hair, eerily reminiscent of his father. 'Anyone could see how much you meant to each other, why didn't she just leave you alone?'

'It was as much my fault as it was theirs,' Draco said trying to calm him down. Then he spoke softly. 'And you and James and Lily wouldn't have been born if I had listened.'

Al gave him a tortured look. 'Even so…' he shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers and hunched his shoulders. 'I have to go. I need to think.' He turned and walked out of the room.

Guilt flooded Draco; he hoped Al wouldn't take this knowledge out on his parents. 'Go after him, Scorpius,' he said. 'Look after him.'

'I will.' Scorpius stood and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. 'Thanks for telling us, Dad. Al will be all right when he's had a chance to think about it.'

'I'm sure he will.' Draco was grateful for the support and placed his hand over his son's and squeezed. 'I'm so proud of you and I don't regret for one minute marrying your mother and having you.'

The shock showed on Scorpius' face. 'I'd never even thought about that. What happened?'

'Well eventually, years later, Harry did marry Ginny and had James. It was then I decided that I needed to move on and have my own children.' He gave a soft snort. 'Having more than one was too difficult once I'd realised what sort of person she was and that I was still in love with someone else.'

Scorpius nodded. He didn't need to say anything; they both knew what a disaster Draco's marriage had been. 'I'd better go after Al,' he said.

'All right, I'll see you in the morning then. And thank you.'

Scorpius smiled and went, leaving Draco alone and surrounded by his painful memories.

***

Trying his best not to do his usual trick of falling through the Floo, Harry finally arrived home. The hour was late and while he was hoping that someone would still be up to greet him, he didn't expect it, as no one was aware he was on his way. After he and Simon had interviewed Blaise, it had been relatively easy to apprehend the wizard who had been trying to sell stolen dark artifacts.

Stifling a yawn, Harry headed for the lounge to divest himself of the surprise packages he had brought with him. He thought maybe age was catching up with him, although he knew his current tiredness had as much to do with the hours he'd spent captive, and missing his family, as it did with age. Still, he was in his forties, maybe it was time to retire and find something less demanding of his time away from loved ones before they all made lives of their own without a place for him in them.

In the dim lighting of ever burning candles, he could see festive stockings hanging across the mantle and he grinned widely to see the traditional colours, all named appropriately. He unpacked his gifts and enlarged them to their proper sizes before tucking them into the stockings. The larger ones he placed under the enormous Christmas tree. The fairy that inhabited the top of the tree was asleep and Harry, who normally loved to tease her by chasing her with mistletoe, let her be.

He could hear music from somewhere in the house, a Christmas carol tinkling merrily. He assumed it was Lily's as she was the one who had hounded him for the music a number of years ago when she and Hugo had discovered Muggle entertainment. It was nice playing softly in the otherwise silent house, but he was tired and he wanted nothing more than to snuggle up in bed.

He walked slowly up the stairs and stopped out the front of Lily's door, as the music had become louder the closer he came. For a moment he was tempted to enter and turn the music off, but he decided against it, smiling and moving to his room humming the tune instead.

He opened his door and stopped at the sight on the bed before him. 'I do believe in angels,' he breathed. Even after ten years, the sight of Draco asleep filled him with awe. It never failed; he had his very own living angel. Quickly stripping off his clothes, he slid into bed behind Draco and moved close, slipping his arm around Draco's waist, so thankful to feel the warm solid body in his arms again.

Draco muttered something unintelligible and covered Harry's hand with his, snuggling back into his body. Harry felt the moment that Draco was awake enough to realise that he was home, as he stiffened for a moment and then rolled over. In the low light, Harry thought Draco's sleepy eyes shone, and he smiled.

'You're home?'

'Unless you're dreaming,' Harry said, leaning in for a kiss.

Then Draco's lips were under his, arms around his shoulders hugging him so tightly, Harry suddenly wondered what was wrong.

'This is a lovely welcome,' he said.

Draco merely nodded and clung to him tighter. Now Harry was worried; there was no smart comment, nor even admonishment for nearly missing Christmas. 'Draco, what's wrong?'

Draco shook his head. 'Nothing. Can't I be glad you're home from that job that takes you away far more often than I'd like?' He hadn't released his grip of Harry's shoulders though and as Harry pressed closely to him he could feel the slight tremble in Draco's body. Something was not right, but he knew that Draco tended to put up walls if you pushed him so he changed the subject.

'The kids all arrived, then?'

Draco nodded, pressing his face into Harry's neck.

'They're all in good health? Not cursed or hexed?'

Another head shake. Harry sighed. 'Your mother is well?' Draco nodded. 'Scorpius?' Again Draco nodded and Harry had had enough. He moved back enough to lift Draco's face up by his chin. In what light there was, Draco appeared distressed. He kissed Draco's lips gently. 'I've missed you terribly, you know. In fact, I've decided to hand in my resignation just so I can spend more time with you.'

Draco's eyes widened and he smiled, more like the Draco he knew. 'You don't think I'll get sick of seeing you round the house all day?'

Harry kissed him again. 'But you have your own job. You won't see me lazing on the couch in singlet and boxers all day, gorging on junk food and giving Pippy hell for not cleaning up fast enough.' Harry grinned. 'Because I will ensure that by the time you're home I am bathed and dressed and ready for inspection and you will never know what I slob I really am.'

Draco laughed at that and Harry's insides warmed. 'I think after ten years I am well aware that you are a slob, Mr. Potter.'

And just like that Harry knew what Draco's problem was. Draco had only ever called him Mr. Potter back when they were teenagers and madly in love. Before it all went wrong for more years than he liked to remember. Thinking back on those hard times usually made Draco feel sad and guilty.

'You've been thinking about it, haven't you?'

'Worse,' Draco replied.

'How could it be worse than thinking about?' Harry's hand rubbed along Draco's spine down to cup his bum.

'I told Al and Scorpius.'

'God, I hope you didn't tell them everything,' Harry said, laughing.

That drew another smile from Draco. 'Mooning Mistletoe,' he said slipping one thigh between Harry's legs.

Harry chuckled. 'How did they take it?'

'You might have a bit of explaining to do to them. Al was rather angry about how it ended. With his mother particularly.'

'Well he shouldn't be; it all ended well, we're back together and nothing is ever going to separate us again.'

'I think Al took it hard for a reason. His emotions are heightened.'

'And why is that?' Harry's hand was stoking Draco's hip, noticing how he was rolling them slightly dragging a slowly hardening dick across Harry's thigh.

'I think he's in love with Scorpius,' Draco said and stilled Harry's hand. 'He's not said anything but I recognise the look he has on his face when he looks at him. It's part of the reason I told the boys about us. I thought perhaps it might help him see that if it's meant to be then it will be.'

'And what does Scorpius think of this?" Harry asked. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation, as he was becoming used to thinking of Scorpius as his third son. It felt faintly incestuous, but he would adjust if it seemed a possibility.

'I don't see the same look on his face, I'm sorry.'

'Nothing to apologise for, Mr. Malfoy, I'll speak to him in the morning about not hating his mother. Now come here and welcome me home properly.'

Harry grinned and took Draco's cock in his hand, his skin feeling like it had just reconnected to something of his that was lost. As he stroked Draco and watched in awe as the man he loved with every fibre of his being fell apart, he knew that no mater what their past or their future, they would always be two halves of the one whole, each lost without the other and only really living when being touched by the devotion of their love.

…

Downstairs, Al was sitting on the couch in the lounge room, looking at the Christmas tree and its blinking lights. He'd not been asleep when he'd heard footsteps past his door. He assumed it had been his father and was glad he was home for Christmas but he was having trouble sleeping, worrying how he was going to deal with asking his father some hard questions. Logically, he knew that he couldn't be too hard on him; no one was wholly to blame, though he knew his mother's manipulations hadn't helped. But he wondered how his father had kept his love for Draco alive during all those years. Hadn't he ever given up hope that one day they'd be together? Al thought if he had no hope…Hope seemed like the wrong word anyway. To hope meant that you have some indication that things might change – but how could Al have any indication of that when Scorpius had no idea how Al felt and was straight as well? On the other hand, hope seemed appropriate because Scorpius didn't know how he felt and therefore was unable to say unequivocally 'no'.

A soft cough behind him made him start. Scorpius rounded the couch and flopped down beside him.

'You ok?'

Al nodded. 'I heard dad come home. You dad will be happy.'

'Yeah. You're not though, I can tell. What's up? Thought we worked stuff out this afternoon.'

'We did, just going over a few things in my head.' Al rubbed the bridge of his nose, tiredly. Al froze as Scorpius slid his arm around his shoulder

'Don't make them roll over too much in there, they'll leak out your ears.' Scorpius laughed in his ear and Al's skin broke out in goosebumps. Damn him.

'Idiot,' he said fondly.

'Seriously, though, you'll always have me to talk to. We are not our fathers. I'm your best friend and I'll never not listen to you when you want to tell me something.'

Al looked into Scorpius' face; noticing the deep grey eyes full of sincerity and honest caring. Al's heart panged and his throat ached but he smiled and hugged his best friend tightly.

'Thank you,' he whispered.

It _would_ be enough. This… _this_ was worth fighting his attraction for.

'Of course if you start blubbering like a girl or running off at the mouth talking nonsense I might have to hex you or something,' Scorpius said, pulling out of the hug and pretending to be serious.

But Al saw the slight curling of his lip and punched him in the arm. Whatever happened with this attraction, happened. If he and Scorpius were meant to fall in love with each other then they would, and no amount of planning or scheming, like his mother had done, or even denying it as Draco had done, would alter the outcome. In the end, if they were destined to be together then they would be.

Perhaps, hope was the right word, after all, he thought.


End file.
